The Torn
by ShatteredAwe
Summary: 20 years after the end of the main series, Sunagakure and Konohagakure are at war. And as a circumstance of their past relations, Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, Shikamaru and Naruto find their lives changed, damaged, and potentially ruined by it. ShikaTema focus. Very dark. Extended Summary inside. Please R&R.
1. Decisions

_One upon a time, when I was a little girl, I wrote Naruto Fan fiction. I never finished, and I started back when Naruto wasn't finished itself. And now that Naruto's finished, I want to go back over it and rewrite the series I was writing. This technically is an Alternative Universe from Naruto, since the effects of the time skip at the very end (Chapter 700) are going to be altered a lot to allow for my drama to happen. You'll see._

_And the main stream of time that this fanfiction follows will take place 20 years after the 4__th__ Shinobi War ended. So let's start._

_I don't own any of the characters, of course. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto._

_Story starts around ten years after the 4__th__ Shinobi War ended, so basically everyone's in their mid-twenties, with Temari being 30._

_Now let's begin. Please remember to R and R. I really need feedback so that I can improve._

_Oh, one last thing._

_The early parts of this story are going to be centered on Shikamaru and Temari. After a few chapters of establishment, the following characters will have their own perspective chapters:_

_Shikadai Nara, Kankuro, Gaara, and Naruto Uzumaki_

_And more. I'm not done writing the story yet, nor am I done the planning. So far, you can expect a little bit of everything in this story, I suppose. A lot of angst and tragedy, some fluff, some battle scenes (But I'm not too good at writing them), some sexual content. Either way, let's start._

_**Warning: **__This story is rated __**T for Teen for now, but the rating might increase to M later.**_ _I also do not plan on writing any explicit lemons. Sorry._

**Part One: Decisions**

_Ten Years after the 4__th__ Shinobi War…_

_Her hands gripped the letter, and her tears slowly began to flow down her cheeks. The door to the room that she was sitting in was closed, and she silently thanked God for that. Her eyes slowly allowed themselves to look at the final plea once again, and as she reread it, the droplets of water from her eyes began to flow even more freely._

"_I know what you have to choose. The fact that you have to choose, I know, is unfair. And I'm sorry, this is a really shitty way to prove to you my feelings. But I love you. I want to __**marry **__you. And because of that, I __**can't**__ kill you."_

_She took a deep breath, and then slowly placed the letter on the table in front of her. And with her tears falling down her face, she began to think over a decision that would, no matter her choice, change her life forever…_

_All the while, hearing pleads and arguing from the meeting room down the hall._

_Two and a half days later…._

Shikamaru Nara closed his eyes and leaned against a tree, before reaching into his Jonin jacket to take out another cigarette. His old one that he had been using was somewhere back in the way that he had come, probably putting itself out amongst the undergrowth of the trees. After inserting the cigarette into his mouth, he quickly took out the lighter he had always used, and then lit it. He closed the lighter, and then took a nice, long breath of the cigarette, before removing it from his mouth so that he could breathe. And as the small fire that he had set in front of him seemed to illuminate his face, he slowly lifted his head and looked across the clearing in front of him, silently hoping that the person he was meant to meet here would hurry up and appear.

He was right on time. This was unusual, because for most things, he wouldn't care about being early, let alone on time. He also wouldn't be having any of the worries that he was having now. He wouldn't be running a thousand and one worst-case scenario plans though his head, he wouldn't be standing out in the open like this and he wouldn't be stressing out at all. And yet he was. Smoking against a tree, with a fire in front of him, likely wasting his time, likely leaving himself wide open for an attack, and definitely allowing the nature of his circumstances get to him.

He took another drag. It was late. The sun was gone from the sky, and the only reason why he had been able to find the clearing of the rendezvous he was meant to be having was because of his memory. Muscle Memory. He wasn't quite sure, but it didn't matter. What did matter was that he was here now, and that with each passing moment that he waited for the woman he was going to meet, he began to worry more and more.

This was even more unusual. This... sad condition that he was undergoing. Usually, nothing really bothered him. Same cool, cold demeanour every time. He would suffer from irritation, yes, but nothing this bad. But, as he took yet another draw out of the cigarette, he slowly remembered the few other times when he had underwent this affliction. After the Chuunin Exams, when most of his friends could've died and he was left having to watch them. When Asuma died, and once again he was left just having to deal with the consequences that this brought him. When his own father had died, and once again he was just left there having to deal with it. And now it was very possible that he would have to deal with the fact that he person he was meant to meet was in fact not coming, and then he would have to deal with the consequences that that event would also bring.

And like all of the times he had felt like this before, the outcome would likely affect him the most. And the outcome would likely affect his emotions. And he didn't want to cry ever again.

The cigarette eventually went out, and he threw the remains to the grass below him. He reached into his jacket again, and took out another, then placed it into his mouth and lit it. He took another drag, and then sighed, sitting down against the tree. He was on time. She, clearly was not.

At least that's what he thought until he heard a rustle in the bushes in front of him.

He immediately went to his feet, and spat the cigarette that he was attempting to finish out in front of him. The other side of the clearing was a ways away from him, but the other side of the clearing was still close enough for someone to use some form of jutsu to immobilize him. Or throw a kunai. Or attack him successfully, and get away with it if he wasn't careful. But despite this knowledge, standing up was all he could do. He was still close enough to the fire in the middle of the clearing for the flames to illuminate his face, and the only other thing that he would do to defend himself was pull out one of his kunai, and put his hands in front of him. Strategies for a worst-case scenario ran around in his head, before the bushes in front of him rustled again, and a cruel, but familiar laughter came from the other side of the clearing...

"Come on... who else did you think it was, Nara?"

Shikamaru's body relaxed, before he took a deep sigh.

_Temari._

And out of the bushes she appeared. The one he had been waiting for. The sole reason why he had travelled for a day and a half away from Konohagakure for. Reason why he had put himself in the open. And at this moment, her presence was the best thing in the world.

She hadn't brought much with her. Her signature fan on her back, and a small bag that hung over her back in front of her fan, which didn't seem to be holding much. His eyes glanced over her, but he saw no other weapons on her. Her hair was in her normal quad-ponytails, she was wearing a Jonin vest and some pants, but other than that there wasn't anything on her that he could have been possibly worried about. It was... Temari. That's all that was to her.

She looked around him to see if anyone else was with him. There wasn't. Shikamaru had made sure that he hadn't been followed here. Meanwhile, Shikamaru looked at her surroundings. Like with himself, there seemed to be no one with her.

Temari eyed Shikamaru, and then took a deep breath, before walking across the clearing, before she found herself standing in front of the fire that Shikamaru had set up a short while earlier. Shikamaru, wordlessly and thoughtlessly, joined her in this act, before sitting himself down on his side of the fire. Temari said nothing else and sat on her side as well.

And then... everything stopped for a few minutes. The two simply just sat at the fire, either spending time looking at each other, looking into the flames, or looking at each other's respective sides. Whatever either of them wanted to say had been lost for a while, while the both of them reviewed the circumstances that they both were under.

As well, what it meant that both of them were meeting here, at this time, all alone.

As per usual, Temari was the first one to speak. She looked up from the flames, and then looked directly at Shikamaru's face. He eventually felt her stare, and looked up himself. She took another breath, before looking directly into his eyes. Shikamaru met her gaze.

"... A note's a shitty way to propose, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru exhaled, and then answered. His voice was tired.

"Well... it was the only way I could talk to you again without having to go to Sunagakure again myself. And there's a restriction in travelling there. And... Well. I didn't think of any other way it would get to you in time."

"The mail was slow. I mean, you did factor in the fact that, since Sunagakure was in fact restricted, your message took longer to get than you probably expected."

"Oh. I hadn't-"

"Thought about that? Well, doesn't matter. All I know is that by the time I got it, I had about a day to make my decision, since the place you wanted to meet was so far from Suna."

"Well... what did you choose?"

Temari rolled her eyes slowly, before closing her eyes. The conversation was dropped for a few more minutes, before Temari spoke up again. During the few moments, Shikamaru felt that now familiar feeling of worry creep across his mind once again, and began to slowly tap his finger against his knee.

There was about a Twenty percent chance that she would've came to the rendezvous outlined on his letter and said yes. There was a thirty percent chance that she would come to the rendezvous, trick him, and ambush or kill him. And there had been a fifty percent chance that either she would never meet with him, she would have never received his note, or that a week, two weeks, or three weeks later the two of them would be trying to kill each other in the middle of some war that nobody wanted.

She had met with him, leaving a thirty percent chance that when she replied, she would attack, or a twenty percent chance that she would reply and say-

"...Well if I was going to refuse, I would've simply stayed at home. Or I would have attacked you already."

Shikamaru let out a rather loud and obvious sigh of relief, threw his head back and closed his eyes. Temari smirked at this reaction.

"I bet you had this all planned out in your head, didn't you? All of the probabilities, worst-case and best-case scenarios, chances of me saying this or that."

Shikamaru smirked back at her.

"Well, this is a reason why I had to make sure you were on our side."

And just like that, with that careless comment, and Temari was silent. Her smirk instantly disappeared from her face, and she looked down and away from Shikamaru for a few minutes. Shikamaru mentally slapped himself, he stopped tapping his finger on his knee, and he began to stand up to move closer to her.

But Temari didn't' see this. She didn't hear it either. She quickly became too engaged in her own thoughts. And in her own conscious.

What exactly was she even _doing _here?

Is this how easily her loyalty to her village was broken? Just because of one letter? Just because of one man? What exactly would happen next? Would she ever see her brothers again? Would she be forced to kill them? What exactly would she do in Konohagakure with Shikamaru? What did he really want with her? Maybe, maybe this entire thing was a trap, but in fact he was the one who was about to spring it-

She suddenly felt his arm wrap around her waist, and was pulled closer to him. She opened her eyes to see him sitting right next to her, and before she could make any more moves, he had her right beside him, in his protective grasp.

He sighed, and then struggled to figure out the words he should say. "That came out wrong... I... I know what you're going through."

"No, no you don't."

Temari attempted to get out of his grasp, but Shikamaru held on tighter. When she couldn't dissuade him physically, she attempted to do so verbally.

"No, you really _**don't**_ know what I'm going through. I'm... I was about... to leave my entire life behind just so I could be with you. I'm about to... I was about to... leave my family completely behind. I'm about to be _hopeless_ and _helpless_."

Then she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Exactly what are _you losing?"_

Shikamaru frowned. _Troublesome. Always got to make things hard._

"I guess you're right. No, I'm not really losing anything in this arrangement."

Shikamaru let go of her, but Temari didn't move away from him, waiting for him to finish.

"I get a wife, I get to _expand _my family, I get to push my life forwards. I'm about to be _happy_ and _stable_."

Temari sighed, but Shikamaru quickly continued.

"But... the difference is, if we just called this entire thing off, _I would be the one losing, _while you technically wouldn't gain or lose anything. If you decided to turn back and go back to Sunagakure, I might have to potentially kill you one day. If you went back t- ugh forget this. Enough with this romantic crap."

Shikamaru pulled Temari closer to himself once again, but this time she ended up right in front of him, sitting somewhat awkwardly on his lap. The entire order of things was weird, but Shikamaru didn't really care much. He had something on his chest, and he wanted to make sure she wasn't going to move away for it.

"Dammit woman, I _love _you, ok? Are you happy to hear me say it in person _again? _After all of the millions of times I've repeated the same phrase? If you go back to Sunagakure right now then I don't really know what I'll do with my life at _all. _I'll probably participate in the war, do my duty, blah blah blah until I find out that you're _dead. And then what's going to happen? _I'm going to sputter around, feel sorry for myself, and maybe cry like a baby, like I did for everyone else in my life who's died so far. And with your death it's going to be even _worse. _Because you're more _special_ to me than anyone who's ever died yet. So, that's it. I don't even know what the hell I'll do once I find out you're dead. Or even earlier than that, when I realize that I can't do what I want with you. No not like that, no exactly like that. I actually love you, and I want you for my own. And if you just turn back then I don't know what the hell's going to happen to me. So-"

"I get it."

Shikamaru paused after he was cut off, and then furrowed his brows.

"What?"

"I get it. I... you know nothing that either of us can do is going to make this any easier."

Shikamaru leaned back onto his hands, putting himself in a position to have Temari basically lie on his chest. He frown again, and then looked down.

"I know that."

And then, the silence came back. Idly, Shikamaru let himself run a hand through Temari's hair, being careful as to not undo the style at all. Temari didn't respond to this at all, she was thinking too much, and for that silence she was divorced from their scene, too busy trying to re-think, re-calculate and re-evaluate her actions and her choices.

And he was doing much of the same. The exact same.

Time passed. It was hard to tell exactly how late it was getting, but all they both knew was that Shikamaru's fire was going out, and now it was at the point where it was barely anything. Shikamaru had finally looked back at his chest to see that Temari had her eyes closed, but he wasn't sure if she was sleeping or not. He would have to wake her later, or at least the two would have to move soon, just a precaution to avoid detection.

_This was supposed to be quick_, he thought. But he hadn't thought of this, well he had, but he hadn't thought that this particularly troublesome variable was going to take up this much time and effort from the both of them. By now, they were supposed to be heading back to Konoha, not still trying to figure out if they were really going to do this or not.

He had hoped that she would have done the emotional part at home, but if she really only had one day to think everything through, then...

She was right. She was about to basically lose everything, just so she could be with one man.

He had thought so much about him potentially having to kill her in the future if she didn't come, but he had not thought about her having to potentially kill _her own brothers _at all.

Would the other villagers even accept her? Or would she be accused of being a spy?

Would she be alone? Did she have any other good friends in his village?

Would-

"How's the weather in Konohagakure yearlong?"

Shikamaru flinched slightly, before noticing that Temari's eyes were open again, and now pouring up at his own. That had been surprisingly unexpected, and the question was even odder.

"...Huh?"

Temari shrugged lightly. There was no hint to her true intention anywhere on her body.

"Is it humid? Does it snow? Does it rain a lot? Does it thunderstorm often?"

Shikamaru answered.

"It's more humid than... yes. It doesn't snow except for winter months. It rains basically once a week. It thunderstorms at least twice a month."

"It... doesn't sound like a bad place to live. Or a bad place to grow up, either."

Temari slowly smiled, but it was obvious that it wasn't a truly happy one. Shikamaru's face began to slowly express his confusion.

"Well, it wasn't for me. And exactly what are you attempting to get at? What the hell are you actually asking me-?"

"It sounds like I wouldn't mind living in Konohagakure at all, is what I'm saying."

"No, what are you actually saying? You know I don't speak whatever lingo you're trying to use."

Temari ended up slapping Shikamaru's chest suddenly. Shikamaru could feel it through his armour, and grit his teeth. Temari's fake smile slowly turned into a genuine one once Nara brought a hand to rub the area.

"You... haven't figured it out yet?" She said slowly. Shikamaru looked into her eyes slowly, and then unclenched his teeth.

This was supposed to be the most ideal result, but throughout the extended rendezvous it had become more and more of a fantasy. And more and more unrealistic. And more and more distant. He slowly manoeuvred himself so that he was sitting up straight and tall, and then...

"... You're really going to come with me?" His voice was one of disbelief.

Temari closed her eyes, before taking a deep breath.

"... Yes."

"And that's an actual yes?"

"Yes."

"And what was that back there then?"

"I was trying to be romantic."

Shikamaru smirked, and then took a deep breath. "Well you suck at it. I mean, I do too. It's -"

"Troublesome?"

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. "Yeah. Very." He removed his hands from her hair, and then slowly let his eyes drift to his "fire". It was gone at this point. There wasn't much of a way to tell how much time had passed. And... there were going to be more pressing things that would happen soon. Neither of them were close to each other's villages, and there was always a threat somewhere. He looked up, and around, before turning towards her again.

"Do you know if you were followed?" He asked. Temari frowned.

"Do you really think I'd let someone follow me here?"

"No."

"Then I didn't. How about you... are you alone?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Like you, I didn't let anyone come."

"Really? Not even your friends?"

He messed up his face again.

"No. Too much of a risk, and I wanted to meet with you by myself. Anyways, we should get going. It's dark."

"Right."

Typical.

They both moved to stand up. Temari grasped the pack on her back, and then moved off of Shikamaru, while he dusted himself off and then stood up with her. Shikamaru went over to finish cleaning up the remains of the fire, while Temari found herself turning back to look the way she had come.

She couldn't help but reassure herself. Yes, this is what she was doing. She was going to leave the land she was born in, had grown up in, had bled and had killed for. She most likely wouldn't be able to return, she most likely wouldn't see anyone that she knew from there ever again. She would have to pretty much give up and dismantle her career as a Ninja, and probably be forced to be something domestic. She wouldn't be able to see her brothers, most likely ever again. Hell, she barely had had any time to think about how her decision would affect _them. _They would miss her _badly. _Would her disappearance cause even more resentment towards the leaf? Would they lose it? Would they try to go and find her?

Her face slowly transformed to reflect her emotions, and reflect the stress of what she was going through. She knew that she would miss them too. Miss the way they would mess with each other. Miss the way Kankuro and her looked over Gaara. Miss the way the three of them would sometimes bar-hop after work, getting drunk out of their minds to take their thoughts off of whatever they had done at work during the day. Her attempting to cook and Gaara suddenly becoming a professional critic. Practising jutsu with each other. Sharing and swapping stories of their missions on the times they had been apart. Sharing grief when the harmful times of year came around. The teasing and friendly rivalries that the three would randomly make with each other...

Shikamaru noticed her hesitation, and turned his head. "Temari, we have to go."

Temari was ejected from her thoughts, and then turned around in Shikamaru's direction. _Right._

She... was going to lose a lot. But, she was about to gain as well.

The lazy yet brilliant genius of Konoha. She would become his wife, and then be let into his clan. His village was familiar, but there was still much to explore and find out about. Every time she had visited the residents had been friendly, so it would be weird for everyone to just do a complete 180. She would probably eventually find something to keep her busy throughout the day, from basic homemaking duties to clan-tending, perhaps even helping Shikamaru with some of his work. She could meet new friends, she supposed, as well as get to know old ones better. And like he had said earlier, Konoha wasn't a bad place to live at all.

Her face slowly allowed an unsure, yet proud smile. She would miss them, but she would love Shikamaru more. Love the times the two had long walks together, talking about basically whatever came to mind. Loved the times he would completely surprise her, asking her out for a dance or a drink while she was in the middle of one of her many mood swings. The times when he would invite her to watch the clouds with him, with neither party really minding the other's presence. His overall gentlemanly aura, well, at least when he felt like putting it on, and the compassionate, great leader under his lazy and unmotivated guise.

And... He wanted to stop this. Maybe... maybe he could help her end the war quickly. Maybe... then she wouldn't have to lose anything, really. And neither would he.

Temari took another deep breath. This was it. She took a step towards Shikamaru, and continued to walk towards him until the two were standing side by side.

"Lead the way," Temari said. "I don't know the way back to your village, after all."

He nodded, but before he could jump ahead, he allowed a few words to flow from his mouth, taking into consideration the time they had spent earlier.

"...Don't worry, Tem. It's going to be worth it. You'll see."

Temari felt a prang in her chest as Shikamaru jumped off in front of her. Then, she exhaled, and flashed forwards after him.


	2. News

"Two bowls of ramen, please."

"That's it? Neither of you two want anything special?"

"Naa. That's it."

"Coming right up!"

Temari sat back on the stool that she was sitting on, and then smirked at her partner for the "date".

"I'm never going to forget how you proposed to me via a letter, by the way," she sneered, allowing some more of the sake that they were drinking to enter her already slightly overflowing cup. After topping herself up, she threw more of the liquid down her throat, and then slowly leaned forwards on the counter.

Shikamaru cringed.

"Ugh, you're going to cause me to have to buy another bottle," he said. He took another swig of his cup, and afterwards filled it up again halfway. "I'm not rich, you know. And does it really matter? You have a damn ring."

With that, he sat back on his stool, almost falling over before Temari slightly pushed him forwards, and soon he was leaning on the counter in front of the both of them as well.

And there they were. At Ichiraku Ramen, in the middle of the evening, both of them almost drunk, together, drinking and eating the rest of the day away.

It had been three days since their rendezvous. It had taken them a day and a half to return to Konohagakure, and therefore the two had been in the village for a day and a half. The moment he returned to the village, Shikamaru had pulled out a ring and had proposed to her (using mostly different vows than the ones he had given to her on the letter addressed to her, which Temari complimented him on), and Temari nearly interrupted him in saying "yes.". The rest of the day and a half had been a mix of many things, mainly planning, some sex, and the Nara Head working while Temari had gotten used to her surroundings.

Aside from Naruto, no one really knew that Shikamaru was back in town. And nobody really knew about his status with Temari, aside from the tenders at the restaurant they were at, of course. Eventually, everyone would know.

Temari smirked at Shikamaru, and decided to stop lecturing him for once, before pouring a bit more sake into her bottle. So far her stay in Konohagakure had been comfortable enough, but she had only been there for a little more than a day, and even back when she was an ambassador she had stayed for longer. One of her worries, his family not accepting her, was dealt with by Shikamaru, before she could even respond to it, (and of course Yoshino Nara was very happy that her son was settling down), and Konohagakure had proved big enough to not be explored by her in one day, but still, no one really knew that she was there. None of Shikamaru's friends knew, the Hokage didn't know, none of her brothers kne-

And of course as her mind drifted back to that thought, she suddenly felt the need to drown herself in more sake.

But before she could reach back for the liquor, one of the tenders had returned with their ramen. Shikamaru quickly paid the man, and ordered another bottle of sake. He then began some idle chatter with the man (simple stuff, where was Ichiraku and his daughter?, the worrying rise of the price of ramen in the village since the village had been declared "restricted except for local travel within the Land of Fire"), while Temari shut her eyes tight, and shook her head slowly.

_I'm not going to think about this shit today._

By the time she looked up again, Shikamaru had finished his conversation, and was refilling the both of their glasses. Afterwards, he lifted his cup.

"Toast?" He asked. Temari rolled her eyes, returning to the present day.

"We already did."

"This time I want to toast to something different."

Temari raised her glass.

"To..."

"To a short day at work-"

"You already said that-"

"And you choosing me."

Shikamaru threw the liquid back into his head, while Temari sat there dumbfounded. He... was full of surprises, it seemed. Either that or this was the drink talking. Either way that had been unexpected. Temari drank anyways, but paid attention to when Shikamaru lowered the cup from his mouth, and then picked up his chopsticks to begin to eat his food.

"I can tell when you're thinking about _them, _by the way."

Temari froze, and then began to blush.

"What?"

"Your right brow goes up a bit, and your mouth slightly downturns, and you twitch your left thumb."

"What the hell?"

Shikamaru finished a bit more of his food, before placing the bowl back onto the counter, and facing her, leaning slightly on the counter beside her.

"It's just some stuff that I've noticed. I mean, you've been thinking about them at random intervals since you came with me."

Temari's face turned quizzical, but on the inside she knew it was true. Shikamaru studied her face, sighed and continued.

"Nevermind. Just... try not to think about them too much. It's not anything personal, it's just I don't want you feeling upset all of the time."

He then reached for his bowl of ramen, and began to eat more of it. Temari sucked in her lips, and then exhaled.

"I guess this is when couples just... demand shit out of each other? Like... before the marriage?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "That, or we negotiate. I'm not ordering you to stop, I'm just thinking about your feelings."

Temari finally realised that she hadn't touched her ramen since it had arrived. She moved to do so, taking a bit into her mouth, before swallowing and answering him.

"Well, that's an unfair ask of me. I mean, they're my damn _brothers _of course I'm going to think about them. And now that we're in this situation, it's a sibling instinct to think about their wellbeing..."

As Temari went on, Shikamaru felt a vein pop in his head. _If for only once she could just agree..._

Temari eventually stopped, and then went into silence for a while, before finishing her take on the topic. In the meanwhile, the Nara Head had half-finished his bowl of food.

"How about we... make a deal or something? You said that we were negotiating, right? How about... I'll stop thinking obsessively about my brothers if... well... you don't end up getting their blood on your hands."

Shikamaru sat up. The request had him thinking about it, and he slowly returned his bowl to the counter that it had been sitting on in the first place. He asked questions, but he had already predicted the answers.

"...What the hell do you mean by that?"

Temari's face slowly turned into a glare. One of the predictions Shikamaru had was true. This wasn't the drink talking. She was being serious as fuck, and her voice reflected this.

"As in, one day don't come home to me with their headbands in your hands. What the hell else did you think I meant?"

Shikamaru grit his teeth. Knowing that she wanted a talk, he spoke as he finalized the strategies he could use to fulfill her request.

"If... this war does happen, you're well aware that your brothers are going to be pretty much the highest ranked Shinobi in your former village, right? You get that even if I'm not the one who ends up killing him, someone from another village or someone from my village could end up doing the deed, right? Not to mention that they're going to be walking security threats, and probably threaten other ninja from this village, ri-"

"And that's why I said don't _kill them_."

"I'll probably be a commander again, Temari. How the hell am I _not_ supposed to end up killing them without compromising my village? Or end up ordering a mission on their head-"

"No, I meant don't kill them _personally. _At the very least."

Shikamaru paused, and then narrowed his eyes. "You could've said that in the first place."

"I know."

"And maybe you should drop this descriptive bullshit. I understand you better when you're being blunt as fuck."

"You still haven't agreed or disagreed."

Shikamaru nodded, and then leaned back into his stool. His answer should've been immediate, but he couldn't exactly pin his finger on why he was hesitating. Was it because of his status? Perhaps. If the General of Konohagakure suddenly turned away from an opponent in the middle of the battle, he'd be questioned. What if Kankuro or Gaara attempted to harm someone on the battlefield that he cared about? What if he accidentally ended up doing it, in the rage of battle? What if he was told to order an assassination on one of them? Did that count?

As Shikamaru thought it through, Temari finished her ramen slowly, watching his moves. Just like her, he did certain things when he was about to agree with someone, or disagree with someone. When he was about to say yes, or when he was about to say no. As he watched his fingers come together into his "thinking" pose, she scanned his body for any sign on what he would decide upon. So far, there wasn't even a clue.

More scenarios went through Shikamaru's head. As per usual, he would distract her with conversation.

"You know, the war hasn't even been confirmed yet. This entire conversation could be useless in a while if it's revealed that we are-"

"_**Shikamaru Nara. What a fancy meeting you here!"**_

__Shikamaru cringed. _Great, it's Naruto. Along with all of his yelling._

And sure enough, there he was. As the two turned their heads around to see the voice, the image of Naruto Uzumaki's blonde haired and blue eyed head was seen just underneath the cover of the entrance of the shop. His eyes immediately focused on Shikamaru, as he finished entering the restaurant and quickly walked over to him.

"'Was looking for you all day! Where have you been? I mean-"

As he got closer to his old friend, Temari's also blonde hair came into his view, and Naruto stopped in his tracks.

"...Temari? ...What're you doing here?"

Temari furrowed her eyebrows, and Shikamaru exhaled through his nose. _Great, now to explain._

He hadn't seen Naruto all day, not even at work, and he was one of the many he hadn't found the time to tell about his arrangement with Temari. Mostly for the fear of having to do extra work, and all that extra explaining too...

Naruto soon realised that he was standing in front of them, and moved himself to sit on the seat next to Shikamaru. He smoothed out his jacket, while both Shikamaru and Temari began to think of ways to try and explain this to him. It was well known that Uzumaki was a loudmouth, so whatever they said about the two of them had to be the story they were going to use with everyone else.

Naruto, however, spoke before either of them could come up with anything to say. As per usual.

"So... I guess you two got together then..."

Shikamaru finished his ramen, while Temari answered him.

"Yes. That's it."

"Oh..."

Naruto sat back in his stool. The tender in front of him offered to take his order, but he simply waved him away. As Shikamaru finished his bowl, the tender came to take it away, while Nara noticed that Naruto was a bit... off from usual.

He wasn't wearing any orange, and instead was walking around in some sort of black and white get-up. Which was strange enough, but there was an actual, bonafide neutral look on his face, instead of the idiotic or insane grin that was usually on it. His body language was off as well, sitting up straight and walking slowly wasn't his thing at all. And finally, he hadn't even ordered anything. No ramen, and nothing to drink.

Either the effects of the sake was getting to him, or something was going on with Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto kept looking at Temari, before finally remembering what he wanted to say.

"...But if you're with him now... then you know that there's no going-"

"Yes. I know." Temari answered quickly. She didn't want to have to think about it again.

"No, I mean now there's really _no going back._"

"What are you even talking about?"

Naruto looked towards Shikamaru, before going back to Temari, before going back to Shikamaru. A guilty look took his face on, and he looked down.

"...I don't know. I don't know if I should tell you. It's... I don't know how to say this. Not when you're here. I mean..."

He looked towards Shikamaru.

"Can I talk with you for a sec? Just outside or something?"

Shikamaru looked confused, and shook his head.

"If you've got something to say, just say it now. I was in the middle of something with Temari."

Naruto's face took an even more sorrowful turn.

"Then maybe you should finish that, and I'll just tell you tomorrow or something."

Shikamaru shook his head again.

"Not after you've dropped so many hints on what this is about."

"Come on... I mean it's not exactly good news."

"I thought that, so just say it."

"I can't. Not in front of her."

"Why?"

"She's not going to take it well."

Temari snorted. "I'm right here, you know. Unless it's top secret news, just tell us."

Naruto continued to hesitate.

"... You two will read it in the paper tomorrow."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"What if we don't want to wait for it? Come on Uzumaki tell us what you know."

"It's... about Sunagakure, Shikamaru."

Temari's eyes widened while Shikamaru's narrowed. Shikamaru leaned off the counter, and his mind instantly raced to the worst-case scenario.

"...Temari, you might want to lea-"

"And who do you think I am, Shikamaru?" Temari snapped. Shikamaru felt another vein pop in his head. "I can take bad news."

"Yes but..."

"'Yes but' what?"

Shikamaru sighed. _Not even married and the bickering's already begun._

"Man's gotta take into consideration his woman's feelings. I don't want you-"

"Naruto, tell us."

Naruto bit his lip, and then looked towards Shikamaru for confirmation. When the Nara head nodded and then sighed, he knew that there wasn't a good chance that he would get out of the shop without telling the news he had received earlier. Him and his obviousness.

He took a deep breath.

"...Earlier today, the Hokage received a notification from the Fire Daimyo that we were at war. With... the Village Hidden in the Sand. With the Land of Wind. And that we were to be fully mobilized in two to three days, and fighting in three or four."

And at that, both Shikamaru and Temari froze. Completely.

It had been something the two of them had predicted would have happened, but the fact that it was _happening _now gave the both of them pause. Yep, it was going to happen. The two villages were at war.

Again. It seemed like the cycle would never end.

The silence in the shop continued on for a few more minutes. Naruto's face slowly drew into a frown, as he began to feel guilty about killing whatever vibe was in the area before. The tender went into the back, and wasn't seen again by any of the patrons present again. Shikamaru narrowed his eyebrows, and then carefully refilled both his and Temari's cups. Out of the entire evening, they would probably need a drink now more than ever. Temari, on the other hand, looked to the ground.

_I should've at least said goodbye..._

The very same feelings she had tried to repress earlier were coming back, and she was struggling to fight with them. But, she had least had alcohol. That would help her cope, that would help her forget. So she threw back more of the booze into her mouth and down her throat, and then brought her cup down onto the counter.

Shikamaru could hear his fiancé's movements from the back of his ears. The constant cycle of pour, drink, pour, drink, pouring, and drinking. He didn't even care about the cost anymore, and instead was just worried about her personal sanity and feelings. Waking up the night after with a heavy hangover wouldn't be an exactly good thing. Neither would drinking herself to sleep just so she could try to forget.

If it never worked for him, then it wouldn't in _hell _work for her.

He refocused on Naruto, who simply sucked in his lips.

"This is why I didn't want to tell you like thi-"

"Yeah, I got it."

The blonde slowly stepped out of his chair, and then turned towards the entrance to leave.

"I guess I'll just see you later."

"Yeah, see you Naruto."

As the blonde walked out of the shop, Shikamaru couldn't help but notice the slow rhythm to his step. He couldn't blame him at all, not at all whatsoever. Nara let out a sigh, and then turned back towards Temari.

By now the old bottle they had was completely empty, and the new bottle that he had ordered was half-finished. Not good. And she hadn't stopped at all. The same pattern of pour, drink, pour, drink, pouring, and drinking hadn't stopped at all, and if anything it had gotten faster. At this rate she was going to drink away her brain cells.

And especially now, she'd need them. Hell, he might need them.

So the next time Temari reached to refill her cup, Shikamaru reached for the hand that touched the bottle, and then gripped it. Soggily, his fiancé turned her head towards his, and looked up. Shikamaru looked into her eyes with serious intent. Temari looked into his with a red tint in them, barely being able to think straight.

But when the words came out of his mouth, she found herself being affected anyways, as if neither of them had ever drunk a glass that night.

"I won't kill them. It... I won't kill them personally. Not hand to hand. It... it will be someone else, if they end up dead. I... promise that."

Temari found herself falling forwards into his arms, and Shikamaru readily accepted her. Balancing her between the two stools that they were sitting on. Keeping her head on his shoulder, hugging her tightly. Making sure that she was at least ok. Even as she began to let a few tears fall down her cheeks. Even through her drunkenness. Even through his drunkenness.

She kept on trying to tell herself that his words couldn't have been the drink talking, but in the state her mind was in she couldn't think straight at all.

This entire war was going to add more and more bullshit to his life. But, at the very least now, he wouldn't have any bullshit in his home. And there wouldn't be any bullshit with her.


	3. The Beginning

The day after, the war started.

Well, not officially. As Naruto had reported, the Hokage simply had _declared war _on that day, but there were no major fights or attacks until those four days passed. Which was when some Sand Ninja found their way into a village on the outskirts of the Land of Fire, took control, and killed anyone who tried to oppose them.

It had become a worst-case scenario that quickly.

Any attempts to contact the Kazekage at all ended up failing. Any attempts to convince him to let up with the occupation weren't even answered. And so when the Hokage ordered a counter-attack, they showed the same lack of mercy that the Sand Ninja had shown the inhabitants of the village.

And then, at not even a week after the war started, everything had went insane.

The actions of the Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand, little sense. The man who had owed everything to the Leaf, the man who had previously considered the Leaf as allies and friends, was now ordering attacks and skirmishes against them. It was a hard thing to swallow amongst anyone who had known him before his actions in the war, but at the end of the day, it was war. At the end of the day, it was time to fight back, and not to just talk.

Shikamaru left a day earlier than the rest of the Ninja for the first skirmish, and ultimately Temari was left alone in Konohagakure by herself. Well, not completely alone. Yoshino Nara was there, the matriarch of the family and therefore the one she found herself talking the most to. While at first being a bit dismissive of her, there was no real proof that she wasn't some sort of spy, the two eventually found themselves bonding over shared hobbies and shared personalities, by which time any thought that Temari could have been a traitor eventually faded from the elder's mind.

Temari had... more of an issue convincing the _other _Nara Clan members that she meant them no harm, however. Even after she had proved that she had not been followed or tracked by her Sunagakure brethren, she was still under heavy scrutiny from them. Despite being the fiancé of their leader, she was at first outright forbidden to enter any clan meetings, and even after Yoshino caught wind of this and _forced _them to let her attend, she was mostly ignored. From day to day, the other members of the clan would simply ignore her, if they had to speak they would do so condescendingly and quickly, and would avoid her if they could. And while at first snapping and giving a tongue lashing to whomever subjected her to this, the future Nara eventually simply accepted her social isolation, and simply just assisted her mother-in-law with whatever she had trouble with, just reasoning that there was no point.

The war had just started, and it wasn't a big surprise that in the village neither of her brothers were very fondly viewed.

Two months passed before Shikamaru was allowed to come back from the front lines, along with a few new scars on his torso and the first "round" of front line fighters. Temari, as per usual, gave him hell for his injuries at first, but eventually took pity on him, making him his favourite food on the day he was able to come back, and taking extra care of him until his injuries no longer affected him enough for him to feel them every day. He began to speak to her immediately about the date for their wedding, emphasizing the urgency of them making it official before "anything happened", and then ended up actually _yelling _at the elders of his clan for treating Temari the way they had, upon which the micro-aggressions immediately stopped.For a period of a month he was given a lot of extra time to himself, which he used to officially marry Temari ("The planning was hell, but it was worth it, even if all I really liked was the dancing, the kissing, the cake, and the fact that I can just sleep now."), take her out to restaurants a few times ("You eat a lot. I think I should have asked in the vows for you not to do that. No offence, but I don't want you looking like Choji. There can be only one."), and most importantly, strategize ("He really did make me Commander. The Hokage I mean. So that's just more work for me, yay."). And when they weren't spending time together, eating, talking, playing shogi, or being intimate, Shikamaru would likely be outside watching the clouds, and Temari would likely be somewhere in town, either hanging out with the kunoichi she trusted enough to call "friend", or simply exploring the landscape.

That was one thing that she wouldn't give up. She hated the idea of sticking around the house and just being some sort of housewife, even if it was with and for the man she loved. Originally she just wanted to continue being a Kunoichi, but the war had thrown a wrench into whatever plans she had fantasized about while she was still living in Sunagakure, while she was still living in peace, and she slowly began to understand what she would be allowed to do, and what she wouldn't. And running around taking mission and getting herself in danger was one of the things she wouldn't be able to do anymore.

So, as she finished making the rounds for Yoshino one day, she simply decided that she would have to find things to do while she lived in the Hidden Leaf Village. And she quickly found out that one of those things could be exploring. The village was getting bigger each day, after all.

After his month of grace passed, Shikamaru found himself regularly at the 6th Hokage's side during war councils and general advising, which made him absent from the home, but at the same time still there. Even with all of the things that Temari had thought of doing in his absence, it still took a long while for her to get used to the routine. In the morning, Shikamaru would wake up beside her around 6:30am, and then be out of the house by 7:30am. She would be up by 6:45, and his breakfast would be made by 7:00. After he left at 7:30, she would likely make the rounds around her household, first making sure that simple personal things were done, such as the fridge being stocked and the Shogi board being clean (A weird thing that Shikamaru was particular about), and then she would check up with clan politics and make sure that everything was still operating the way it should. After that, she would likely go and see what else she could do. Either explore Konohagakure, keep up on the war, see if any of her friends were available, or , if there was nothing to do, simply stay at home and try to enjoy the pleasures of having so much free time. By 5pm she would begin cooking, by 5:30pm dinner would be ready, and usually by 5:45pm Shikamaru would find himself stumbling through the front door, usually tired and slightly annoyed from the day at work. They would eat, she would bicker at him to at least do his dishes since she had made the food, and then the rest of the day would be talking, sometimes fighting over trivial things, playing games together, and usually by 10 or 11pm the two would be attempting to get some sleep.

And as the months passed, the two of them realised that they were _allowed _to do that. Or rather, Shikamaru finally got confused to as why no one, other than his own clan, seemed to care that there was an ex-Sand Kunoichi simply living inside Konohagakure. When Shikamaru asked any of his friends and or comrades, there didn't seem to be much of a conversation. "She's with you, right? We can trust you," seemed to be the only thing anyone would tell him. None of the kunoichi that Temari sometimes hung out with seemed to mind either. And, in the 3rd month of their marriage and the 6th month of war, he got his answer from the Hokage himself.

"Well, she's not compromising anything, is she?" Kakashi had mused. "Something tells me that you wouldn't allow her to, no? And since you're loyal to the village and she's not doing anything wrong…"

And thus, at least in a little bit, life was perfect for the two of them for a while. No real social consequence of being together, with Temari slowly getting used to her restrictions and her new village, and Shikamaru rather enjoying their arrangement and loving having her with him. But, about a year after the war had started, Shikamaru found himself in direct command again, away from the village, away from Temari, and into the fray of battle directly again. Which was when whatever euphoric feeling the two had while at home faded back into reality, as Temari found herself now playing the role of the mostly helpless wife, waiting for her husband to come back from war.

Their life was perfect, or rather as perfect as possible, for them... except for the war.

One of the first things Shikamaru found out quickly after the first year of fighting was that Sand Ninja were tough bastards. Asking Temari about it gave him a long explanation that he would tune out of, and eventually he just understood that it was probably just because of the nature of their village. After all, there was very little water in the Desert, and so whoever was a survivor must have been able to get some of that water somehow. And as Shikamaru found that most, if not all of his nights, on the front lines were comprised of assisting Sakura in the infirmary, trying to figure out new antidotes to poisons which came from plants he hadn't even _heard _of, only to, for the most part, fail and end up having to inform another family that their father, mother, son, daughter, wife, or husband wasn't going to make it, he found himself believing this saying almost religiously. It was something he should've believed in the first war, and as the casualties on the leaf side piled up, he found himself frustrated about this truth, and struggling to find ways to counteract it. Eventually, a pattern was established. They would discover a new property of a poison, and months after, usually way after a patient was already dead, they'd discover the plant that was responsible for the new property. And then weeks after doing that, they'd finally make an antidote. They'd make it and give it to the few ninja who had managed to survive that long, only for whoever the hell was making the poisons to change the properties a bit, making their solution to the problem null, and forcing them to restart the process.

And that was just the medical side of things. Shikamaru was also involved, and even more so involved, in tactics.

The difference between providing tactics for a small group of ninja and providing tactics for a huge army was huge, and Shikamaru quickly found himself struggling at first to properly deal with it. Whoever the hell the Village Hidden in the Sand had countering his strategies was skilled indeed, whoever was doing it was no Nara, but she (it took them a while to find out the Sand Commander's identity) could have passed for some outer branch member. If Shikamaru said yes, she would say no. If Shikamaru told a group of ninja to go to a canyon, she almost always was able to anticipate this, and carve up an ambush for him. If Shikamaru sent ninja into hiding as spies, she would also conveniently do the same. At this at least, her counter was easily discovered, but for the others, the consequence of Shikamaru failing usually resulted in people getting injured, captured, or, more often, killed.

Eventually, as the months of the second year of war passed into the third year, Shikamaru began to sharpen his skills, and things began to slowly become less unfair to the Hidden Leaf Village. He, in the second year, was allowed back from the front lines every three months for one month back in the village, and eventually in the third year of the war, those intervals of three months turned into a pattern of one month being away and one month being at home. The routine that he and Temari had begun continued during those times, except with some altercations at times. Sometimes Shikamaru would come home late, and instead of eating right away he would slowly make his way into their bedroom and let himself fall onto the bed they shared, not being able to roll over. At this, Temari would simply move him into a position where he could actually breathe, and slowly begin to massage his back, eventually turning him over and then sitting him up, leaving him alone only to return to begin to feed him the food she knew he needed. Sometimes, Shikamaru would come home late, and barely be able to even get up the steps to their house, and his wife would quickly see that her lovely husband had forgotten to check into the infirmary on his way back home. At this, Temari would slowly guide him to their kitchen, where she would do her best to personally dress his wounds, then slowly guide him to the dinner that, once again, she knew he needed. Sometimes, Shikamaru's wounds would be psychological instead of physical, and he would stumble into their home and simply sit down at the table where his food was, and seem to stare off into space, his mind completely separated from the present, and instead being drowned in thoughts exactly what he was _doing _as the commander of the Leaf Shinobi. At this, Temari would slowly pull up a chair beside him, quietly so she wouldn't startle him, and place her hands on his back, slowly running her hands over the old scars and bruises he had through his uniform, and whisper words of encouragement into his ear.

"Come on. You did what you had to do. Don't spend too much thinking about it, and if you messed up today, just keep on walking into tomorrow."

All of the things she did for him during the days there were altercations in their daily routine worked like clockwork. Usually, after a while of speaking, her soft touches, or her care, he would open up to her, allowing her to peer into his mind, and into the realities of the war they were fighting in. It all ended up the same. Shikamaru in their bed again, sleeping off his responsibilities, and Temari curled up beside him, trying to come to grips with the realities of what he was doing.

Usually she gave the thought no idea and no pause. But, even as she reassured him, and told him to go on continuing with his work, on the inside of her mind, she couldn't help to remember that she, in fact, was sharing the bed with a man who was doing so much to harm her former village. And her brothers.

But she never let these sentiments out of her mind and into her mouth, for her belief that in the end, Shikamaru would also be the one to really save them.

And more and more days passed. More and more months passed. The same routine. The same pattern of Shikamaru being off at war, and Temari being stuck at home, idly making herself busy waiting for him to return, and for the war to end. The same pattern of Shikamaru sometimes coming home broken and scarred in more than one simple way, and Temari healing him through words or through her hands. The same pattern of Temari going to bed each night wishing that things could be different. Wishing that she didn't have to have made that choice those two years ago, to leave her old life behind to join Shikamaru. Wishing that she could still be a Kunoichi. Wishing that she wasn't lying next to a husband who, while working towards saving both of their peoples, was responsible for so much pain in her own village.

And the only thing that broke the monotonous pattern was the day that Temari told Shikamaru that she was pregnant.

It was the third year of their marriage, and the third year of the war. Shikamaru had taken her out to some restaurant for their anniversary, and Temari had been acting strangely. She hadn't been drinking any of the sake he had ordered, she was eating a lot, and she had been overall more moody lately. She was spending a lot of her free time with her girlfriends, but in specifically Ino and Sakura, who were _medical nin. _Unless Temari was planning on putting herself on the front lines again, nothing made sense in Shikamaru's normally logical mind.

Until she took his hand, that snowy evening in March, and revealed that she had been with child for the past two months.

There was no question of who the father was. Of course not, the two were completely devoted to each other. There was no question of what needed to be done for the baby to be delivered and born correctly and safely. Temari had been talking to the medical nin after all. There was no question of what foods Temari needed to consume, what Shikamaru needed to do to keep her calm…

But, there was one more thing that she found herself requesting him. Something out of the ordinary, except for families of Shinobi…

"…Don't die, Shikamaru Nara. I'm going to need you here, and the baby's going to need you here. Do… do whatever you have to do to survive and come back to us, understand? But… I don't need to tell you this, do I? I know you'll make it back. But just… be careful."

Shikamaru had nodded instantly at that, and then let his lips feel one of the hands that Temari was using to hold his.

And another slight altercation was caused. Shikamaru began to be a bit more careful on the battlefield, and Temari had begun to be a bit more careful in the Village. Shikamaru would avoid potentially fatal fights, and Temari would make sure that she was eating correctly. Shikamaru would make sure that he got home on time, usually just to spend more time looking after Temari, and Temari wouldn't complain about him potentially slacking off from his duties.

The stress of bringing a new life into the world also began to take its toll on the both of them. Shikamaru found himself stressing out over the fact that, in a few months, he would be a father. Meanwhile, Temari found herself stressing out over the fact that, in a few months, she would be a mother.

However, there was no time for either of that in the war that they were fighting. Something that Shikamaru found out abruptly, when his thoughts of fatherhood was interrupted when….


	4. Encounter

He found himself suddenly having to dodge out of the way of an attack that would have killed him, in the middle of another battlefield.

Another damn battlefield.

It was now seven months since the day that Temari had told him about her pregnancy, and as was his rotation, Shikamaru was back in the field. This was going to be the same month that she was due to give birth, and from the first second that he had been sent out, it was obvious that Shikamaru didn't really want to be out fighting in the war, especially now. However, fate seemed to be quite livid with him as it were, the Hokage had insisted that the front _needed him_, and here he was.

Being ambushed in the middle of the desert.

The sun had beat down on them like some oppressive dictator. Its position in the sky reminded him that it was still only the afternoon, and that there was plenty more that he was supposed to do this day. Get into the outpost. Locate the Leaf Shinobi that had been captured. Then rescues him if possible, but if not, at least confirm the captured Shinobi's existence and location. It was supposed to be simple.

But it wasn't.

As he dusted himself off from the attack, he lifted his head to look over the sand-cloud that was now in the area where he had dodged from. Assuming that the other two he had been travelling with were still alive, they would have been on the other side of it. However, he had not been allowed much time to muse on this, as whatever was in the dust cloud seemed to jump out of it, and head straight towards Shikamaru.

He stumbled across the sand, cursing his weakness of walking on sand, and began to run up the sand-dune beside him, not spending any time looking at what was chasing him. Upon reaching the top of the dune, he was able to turn around to see what had been trying to attack him. The object had stopped, and he quickly studied it.

There were blue chakra strings attached to its back, and their origin was leading to the other side of the cloud of sand. And the item itself was some sort of… puppet. A puppet whose form he remembered faintly…

And then the cloud that held the source of the strings for the puppet began to disperse, and Shikamaru saw a tall, hulking form standing within it.

"Nostalgic, isn't it? I bet you haven't seen this for, what, fifteen years?"

Shikamaru cringed, and as the sand cleared, he could see Kankuro standing where the rest of his group should have been.

Should. Have. Been.

Shikamaru tried to look behind the puppet master, only to see that his prediction of the rest of his teammates having jumped to the other side of the attack was in fact, wrong. Meaning that it was possible that they were somewhere in the ditch that the impact of Kankuro's puppet had created. Meaning that they had taken that hit head on.

Kankuro instantly noticed how Shikamaru was basically ignoring him, and then spoke again, this time flinching one of his hands, so that his puppet also stood up, aimed at Shikamaru and ready to attack him.

"Ignoring me, are you? That's not a good idea. Don't piss me off, Nara."

Shikamaru quickly looked around the area where he was likely about to be fighting, and then turned himself back to looking at Kankuro. He then silently noted that he was standing on higher ground than the Sand Ninja.

"I wasn't ignoring you."

As Kankuro replied to this, Shikamaru silently noted his face. He hadn't changed the design since the last time the two had fought during the war at all, and unlike last time the two had spoken as neutral parties, there seemed to be some sort of facial hair attempting to grow on the sides of his face. He still wore the same hood that he had from before the war had started, he still ran around in his full black attire, and in reality, the only thing that had truly changed about him was the design on his face, the fact that he seemed quite a bit taller now (at what seemed, from Shikamaru's position, to be 5'9), and, of course, the side of the war he was on.

Along with the deep, almost foreign scowl that was dominant upon his face, and his agitated eyebrows.

"You think I don't see what you're doing? Surveying the battlefield, trying to find your allies, sizing me up?"

His temper seemed to be the same. His voice was much more mature now, however. Shikamaru shrugged in response to him.

"You're pissed about something," Shikamaru observed out loud. He also hoped that perhaps his voice would convince the other ninja who had been with him to come out. He didn't want to fight Kankuro all by himself, and there was a good chance that he had brought others with him. It made no sense that a Kage guard would travel alone.

"'Course I'm pissed. We're in the middle of a war. _Another, _fucking war. Were you expecting me to be smiling?"

"No."

Kankuro flinched his hands again, and his puppet, Crow, moved again, this time opening up some of his compartments, revealing that something else had changed. There was a considerably greater amount of blades, darts and other projectiles on this puppet, and they each seemed to gleam at Shikamaru.

Reminding him that he was getting a bit too close to his own death.

Shikamaru took out a kunai just in case, and then quickly began to strategize within his head. The moment he paused to think, Kankuro launched his puppet towards Shikamaru. He saw this attack coming, and then dodged to the side, losing his footing and falling off the sand dune. Shikamaru quickly got up, but Kankuro was almost as fast, if not faster than him at his reflexes, and sent his Puppet towards him again. The Nara clan head ran out of the way, while the puppet master sent his puppet after him. As Shikamaru began to panic, he placed his hands together, and tried to begin to use his jutsu, sending his shadow towards Kankuro.

The older man saw this immediately, and then opened a compartment on Crow, firing a few darts towards Shikamaru. He stopped his attempt at using his signature jutsu and began to dodge the volley of darts, before suddenly crying out.

One of the darts had grazed his right shoulder.

He immediately moved away from Kankuro's puppet, only for Crow to follow him. Shikamaru began to run up another sand dune, and Kankuro began to follow him, trying to keep track of his prey. Shikamaru then reached the top of the dune and ran down it, turning his head over his shoulder to try and see his other teammates. If they hadn't gotten up by now, it was likely that they were unconscious somewhere, and that later he would have to find them. Meaning that now he would be forced to fight Kankuro by himself.

Kankuro's puppet appeared over the dune and followed him down it. Shikamaru continued to run away, before suddenly feeling a burning feeling grasp his right arm. He briefly turned to look at the cause of his sudden pain, before hearing more darts fly towards him.

Shikamaru rolled out of the way of this. He growled. To win this fight, he would have to get Kankuro in his Shadow Possession Jutsu, but he couldn't do so while he was running for his life against one of his puppets, and while he could feel a burning sensation within one of his arms.

Eventually, Shikamaru saw Kankuro himself appear over the sand dune. He grit his teeth, and then brought his hands together, summoning his shadow…

Before he had to recoil instantly, grabbing onto his right arm. A sudden pain was causing him to feel intense pain in the area. He heard some more darts launch, and then he felt a few of them enter his other arm. When Shikamaru moved to take those darts out, he felt a sudden attack to his gut, and found himself being thrown back into the side of a dune, landing into a wall of sand.

It didn't take a genius to find out that the fight was over, and that quickly.

Shikamaru opened his eyes quickly however, and moved to try and stand up. The sand dune was casting a shadow that he could've used for his jutsu, but the other new thing he noticed when he opened his eyes was the form of Kankuro's puppet standing directly over him. Its darts were aimed at him.

The end.

Kankuro slowly came into view, and from the position that he was sitting in, Shikamaru instantly felt smaller than he actually was. A reversal of what he had briefly felt earlier, standing on the top of the sand dune while Kankuro had stood at the bottom.

And all through this entire "battle", Kankuro's face was still that of one who was angry. Even as he let his lips part once again, and spoke of his victory.

"Looks like you were out-smarted, Nara."

When Kankuro finished speaking, he slowly began to walk closer towards him, entering the shadow that the sand dune cast over the area. Shikamaru tried to move his hands up again, but Kankuro flicked his hands, and Crow fired another dart towards Shikamaru, this time entering his leg. He cringed, but didn't cry out, and instead screamed at himself on the inside of his mind, where no one else had to know. He couldn't think of a way that he could get out of this one alive. He was going to die here. He was about to be killed. By Kankuro. Away from his village, away from his friends and family, away from Temari, and away from his future child.

To die. That was the exact thing that she had told him _not _to do.

He took in a deep breath, and then tried to move both his right and his left arm onto his lap. At the very least, his corpse wouldn't look too bad, in case anyone came across it. He worried and worried inside his mind, feeling guilt, feeling anger at his own stupidity and weakness, feeling intense hatred for the man who was slowly making his way towards him, almost purposely taking forever to do so.

Dying in battle and leaving his family behind… wasn't this the same way that Asuma and his own father had passed away?

Kankuro took out a kunai from his flak jacket, and then knelt over Shikamaru's body. Shikamaru didn't move. He wanted to move. He could _barely _do so at this point, as he began to feel the same affliction that harmed his right arm also begin to affect his left. But he couldn't make his way onto his feet. And as close as Kankuro was, there was no point. Not anymore. Any sudden, un-documented movement, would likely cause the already angry puppet master to attack him immediately.

No matter what he did, he would die.

Shikamaru began to breathe shallowly. Despite the internal panic that he began to feel, he had kept his face controlled and calm, allowing no emotion to slip through. His face was bored-looking as usual, and his eyes slowly narrowed at the man who was about to kill him.

Kankuro then rested the blade of his kunai at Shikamaru's neck, angling it so that it lay across his neck horizontally. Shikamaru looked down on the kunai, and then took a deep breath in through his nose. He wouldn't allow the sand ninja the satisfaction of knowing that Shikamaru was panicking within his mind. The oldest of the pair moved his fingers again, and Crow put away his darts, and its compartments closed up. Shikamaru slowly dragged his eyes over to the sight, before turning back to Kankuro just in time to hear him talk.

"The darts that hit you had poison in them," he explained. His voice contained a quiet storm. "You should be honoured too, you're the first one I really tried this formula modification out on. Basically, it's made to kill someone within a period of thirty eight hours, and during those thirty eight hours, the affected person is meant to feel a great, overwhelming feeling of pain. This feeling of pain continues until their death. Along with the pain, the recipient slowly goes blind, suffers from an extremely low chakra level, and bodily functions start to shut down. I had something similar to this before, but I edited the duration of time the recipient had until his or her death so that it would take a bit longer. _Just for you._"

Kankuro pushed the kunai a bit tighter against Shikamaru's neck, and then barred his teeth in front of him. Shikamaru ended up lifting his head a bit more towards him, but his expression never changed. At this, he could almost feel Kankuro get hotter.

"You like your face like that? Alright then. You can die with it on."

He slowly pressed the kunai deeper into his neck. Shikamaru's brain continued to work on overtime, trying to figure out a way out of this, but he wasn't coming up with anything. It looked like today would be the day he would die.

Shikamaru felt Kankuro make a cut in his throat with the pressure that he was applying onto him. He allowed his face to slightly narrow a bit more, in pain, as both of his hands began to feel as if they were on fire. Now, he could barely control them to twitch, let alone have them make any hand signals. It was over.

Shikamaru had prepared himself for the verbal berating that the eldest Sand brother would likely say as his "finishing move". He always had been one for flair. What he hadn't prepared himself for was what Kankuro had said next…

"Now, before you die, answer one last thing for me, yeah? Where the _fuck _is Temari, Shikamaru Nara?"

At this, Shikamaru's face turned from his usual bored expression into one of shock slowly, as his eyes slowly widened and his mouth slowly went agape. Then, Shikamaru began to remember.

When Temari had left the Hidden Sand Village, she never told anywhere that she was gone, nor where she was going. Not even her brothers. And considering their bond, plus the fact that they were _siblings, _it made sense that Kankuro would want to know where she was, years after she disappeared.

But still, Shikamaru wanted to spend a little bit more time awake, and so feigned ignorance. From their lives before the war, the dying man had a good grasp on what Kankuro knew about his relationship with Temari, but there were a few key holes in his understanding that he would have to exploit later.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru's voice was beginning to waver as the pain in his body increased.

At this response, the puppet-master hardened his scowl at Shikamaru.

"Do you think I'm stupid, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru wanted to say yes, but for the sake of his life…

"No."

"Either way, that isn't the point. The point is that I know that you know where she is, so give me her whereabouts. Now."

"I…. I wouldn't know where she was." Like hell he was going to let Kankuro know the truth. He knew Kankuro. He was an unstable, emotional idiot. The truth would cause Kankuro to lash out at him immediately, and then go back and tell Gaara about his new information immediately. And then from then, the Hidden Leaf Village would likely be attacked immediately, which would've put his wife, his future child, and the rest of his family and village in danger. He wouldn't let that happen. It would be better if Kankuro simply didn't know at all, or thought her to be dead.

"I don't know where she is."

Kankuro smashed his fist against Shikamaru's chest, causing him to cry out. Afterwards, Shikamaru bit his lip deeply, and the older man continued.

"You said that you didn't think that I was stupid, and that was the first lie. Now you're telling me that you don't know where Temari is, and that's another lie."

"I don't know where she is. What else am I supposed to say-?"

"I _know _you, Shikamaru."

"And I _know _you too, Kankuro. And I know that you know that I have no idea where the hell she is-."

"_You expect me to believe that you have no idea where she is, when you were __**with**__ her before the war? Just tell me where the hell she is! Or I'm going to just leave you here and you can spend the last hours of your life screaming out in pain in the middle of a desert, all alone!" _

Kankuro had grabbed onto Shikamaru's shoulders, having dropped his Kunai onto the sand beneath them. The grip caused him to flinch, and then Kankuro continued. His anger was evident.

"Tell me the truth. I _know _she's alive. And if neither Gaara nor I know where she is, that leaves one candidate. _You. _So _talk. Now!"_

Shikamaru winced, and then looked into Kankuro's eyes again, trying to stare him down.

"Fuck off, Kankuro," he spat. As the poison began to spread throughout his body, he found himself having a hard time speaking, let alone thinking. "I told you I didn't know where she was. What the hell more do you want from me?"

"And I told you that I know that you're lying-."

"Even if I was, why would I help you in any way? After you killed my comrades, put me at death's door, then stabbed my village in the bac-."

Kankuro instantly locked his hands around Shikamaru's neck before he could end his sentence. The look in his eyes went from red to black in almost an instant, but Shikamaru remained unfazed. It was like he said. Either way, he was going to die here.

He had gradually accepted it as the conversation had went on. He was going to die like this. Either being murdered by Kankuro once he finally got tired of him, or days later, sprawled out on the sand screaming in pain. He was going to leave. He would see Asuma. He would see his father again. He would be leaving his friends behind. He would be leaving his child behind.

He would be leaving Temari behind. And the very idea of doing so _terrified _him.

But… at the very least he wouldn't give the man in front of him the satisfaction of having power over him. The pleasure of having won something from him. The contentment of having his life in his hands. The gratification of being in charge. And, with diminishing strength and a shrinking reserve of air, Shikamaru continued to hold his face in a state of monotony. In a state of tedium. Allowing none of his emotions to come through. And the longer his face stayed the way it was, the more and more Kankuro got heated.

"Stabbed your village in the back? I don't remember hearing about that. I remember your village screwing _mine _over first. Let's not get mistaken-."

"Are… you going… to kill me… or not?" Shikamaru barked. His voice was weak and drained from Kankuro's grip, but his speech still was audible.

Kankuro removed a hand and pulled it back, and then brought it forwards to punch the Leaf ninja in the face…

Before he found that he found himself unable to move and he stood up, immediately moving away from Shikamaru, and taking his puppet with him.

Shikamaru grimaced at the developments, before noticing that Kankuro's face was contorted and twisted. While his actions were causing him to move back from Shikamaru and give him space, the puppet master's face seemed to be struggling with the very actions that he was doing. Eventually, he and his puppet were out of the dune's shadow, and into the blazing sun again. He was still facing Shikamaru, and after a few moments of just standing there, his movements began to become even more confusing.

He struggled to move both of his hands onto his forehead, and then tried to get down on one knee, before standing up straight again and taking more steps away from Shikamaru's downed form. His face began to wrestle with emotions, and eventually his mouth opened, and words began to slowly slither out of his lips.

"L-let… go of… me… you… bitch!"

Shikamaru leaned back against the sand dune that he was sitting on, and let out a sigh of relief.

_Ino. Choji. For fuck's sake, I must be a lucky idiot._

Choji quickly appeared from the top of the dune that Shikamaru was sitting under, and slid down it until he was standing next to his friend. Meanwhile, Kankuro saw the bigger ninja appear, and then let out a growl of frustration. He tried to use his fingers to propel his puppet towards them, not about to let the Nara get away, but then he found himself being thrown onto the sand in front of him. He yelled.

"Are you serious!? I perfected it! I thought that you'd be dead! You should've at least been out for longer!"

Shikamaru looked up at his comrade, and then slowly let his lips curl into a smile.

"I thought you were out."

Choji didn't waste much time talking, and instead knelt down, slugging his old friend over his shoulder, and balancing him there. Shikamaru at this point couldn't move his arms at all, but used his legs to facilitate his friend, being thrown over his shoulder. Choji then picked up the kunai near Shikamaru that Kankuro had dropped, and placed it into a back pocket. The large man turned around towards Kankuro's body, which was still on the floor, struggling to gain control.

"Alright Ino I got him!" He shouted. "Get ready to get up again, alright?!"

Choji began to move up the sand dune that he had come down from, all while holding Shikamaru's body on his right shoulder. Considering the weight difference between them, it proved to be extremely easy, and while Ino was restricting Kankuro, he could take his time and make sure that he wasn't hurting Shikamaru with discomfort. Upon reaching the top of the dune, he then slid back down the other side, revealing the other side of the environment that Shikamaru couldn't have seen from his previous positions.

Shikamaru was tired and weary, but even he could feel the sensation of Choji placing him down near the sand again. He struggled to use his eyes to look around, but Choji simply held up a hand.

"Just stick here, alright? I'm going to go get Ino, and we'll finish this. You just stay here."

Shikamaru tried to open his mouth to talk, but only ended up feeling a sudden need to breathe more. He caught his breathe, and his friend noticed this, before quickly pulling out the rest of the darts that had entered his body.

"Don't worry. We'll finish this, then we'll get you out of here. Just chill out here."

Choji threw the rest of the darts to the ground, and then turned around quickly to go off. Shikamaru quickly lost view of him once he went back over the other sand dune, and soon he simply placed his head against the sand, letting his eyes close as the poison continued to spread…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Shikamaru woke up, he was surprised to be alive.

After all, Kankuro was a dangerous ninja. The Ino-Shika-Cho formation usually required all three members to actually be successful. And even if Kankuro had been defeated and the Ino-Cho formation turned out to be a success, the puppet master had said that his poison would kill him within thirty eight hours. Thirty eight hours shouldn't have been enough time to save him.

And yet here he was. Lying in something that made him feel comfortable. Alive. Breathing. Still taking in Oxygen.

He slowly opened his eyes to look around him. Immediately in front of him he could see a bright white light. While originally thinking that he could still be dead, the appearance of the ceiling behind the light ended any ideas of that. He slowly rotated his eyes to one side of the room, seeing a machine, with a wire that was heading towards him and fed into a tube that was his left forearm, along with a window. He then slowly moved his eyes to the other side of the room, seeing another window, another machine that fed into his right forearm, along…

With the worried face of Temari Nara. And her swollen belly.

She seemed to be sitting in a stool beside the cot that he was lying in, and was looking out the window beside him. She hadn't noticed that he had regained consciousness yet, and at this Shikamaru found himself slowly changing his face into a smirk. Usually she was so alert, but today it seemed that she was off her game. She hadn't dressed up for the occasion either, simply wearing the loose, purple maternity wear that she had been commonly wearing for the past seven months, and her hair was still up in her usual ponytails.

Shikamaru simply stared at her for a few moments longer, before taking a deep breath, looking back at the ceiling and exhaling, enjoying the fact that he could still breathe. He was still alive. His friends had saved him. He would be able to continue on, at least for a while longer. He was looking at Temari. He would be able to see his child. He was luck-

"Shikamaru?"

Temari's voice usually dripped with some sort of venom or command, but this was one of the few times her voice lacked either of those things. The injured man turned his eyes back towards her to see that she was looking at him. Her eyes were big and full of worry, and in her face he could clearly see the bags underneath them. She rested both of her hands on her lap, and then peered into his own brown eyes, before speaking again.

"Shikamaru? Are you… are you awake?"

At this point in time, Shikamaru could've sworn her voice was the best thing in the world.

He slowly opened his mouth to talk, idly noting that his voice was as dry as his lips.

"Yeah. I'm here."

He then felt something almost pop in his head, and let out a moan while jerking his head suddenly forwards. Temari was instantly on it, slowly placing his head back onto the pillow he was lying on, before placing one of her hands on his forehead. When she felt his temperature, she frowned at him, before removing her hands from his body.

"Why did you have to go out and be reckless like this?" She began. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, and then braced himself for the rant that was soon to follow. _Well that was a good single minute of her not being troublesome._

"Getting poisoned and all of this… mess. Engaging the enemy by yourself when you _damn well know _that you usually need a plan to even _begin _to be successful! Look at you! How did you even manage to get fucked up _this _badly when you were in a _team?!" _

Shikamaru exhaled. _I could really do with a smoke right now. Ugh._

"Did you… did you even think of the people you'd… potentially be leaving behind?! Or did you just keep crusading because '(you're) a ninja! (You're) a man! This is your du-."

"Are you done yet?"

"Not… not nearly! I mean… look at you! If Choji and Ino hadn't been there you'd be dead! And… I don't… do you even realise how things would've been like for me with you not here?!"

She paused, and when she did Shikamaru slowly tried to raise a hand to his head to feel his own temperature for himself, but soon found that he was still a bit too weak to do so. Looking down, he saw both of his arms lying on either side of his body, lightly bandaged. Then Temari began to talk again.

"You're just… I wouldn't have married you if you were this reckless-."

"Woman-."

"Don't interrupt me, Shikamaru! I'm just… You need to be more careful! I…"

She paused again, and Shikamaru made an effort to lean himself up on the pillow that he was lying on. When she continued, her voice was a tad bit softer.

"They told me what happened. I was… I was just so worried. The poison… thank heavens Sakura wasn't out on duty. Or else you wouldn't have made it. But… then I had to wait. When they brought you in, I had to wait. I had to just… sit there being so damn helpless and I _hated _doing that. Your life was completely in someone else's hands. Our _future _was in someone else's hands! It was… I talked to Ino and Choji to pass the time and they were always praising you but… I was just-."

"Just… stop. Calm down, Tem."

"No if I don't… say this. I mean… I know what I did. I ran off with you. I married a Shinobi. I left my villages, my brothers, so I could be with you. I should've prepared myself for the day that you might not be able to return to me. I should've done so before I had even come over. I… I shouldn't let myself be weak. But… but… just don't be so reckless! Be more careful! Study the battle and study your opponents! I mean."

Temari suddenly slumped forwards, and placed both of her hands on her stomach. Shikamaru watched her, and cringed as he saw this happen, before slowly pushing himself up on one of his shoulder. Temari groaned slightly, before slowly pushed herself back up so that she was leaning on the back of her chair. Shikamaru still watched her, and before she could continue with berating him, he spoke first.

"You shouldn't be talking so much in your condition," he said. He quickly realised what his words were going to incite, and corrected himself immediately.

"As in, you should take better care of yourself. Like I said earlier, calm down. I'm here, aren't I? I'm still alive. Don't… worry about me. I'm fine. I'm still breathing."

He tried his best to motion to Temari's abdomen.

"Instead, worry about the baby."

Temari frowned, and then looked away from him for a while.

"I do. I do worry about the little one. I'm just…"

Her voice drifted off. She didn't know what to say, or how to explain this to him.

Upon Shikamaru's voice being heard, however, she began to be thankful that she had chosen him as her husband.

"Scared. You're scared."

Temari nodded, hanging her head in acknowledgement. Shikamaru allowed his head to lie back on the pillow, and then continued to talk, now that it was easier.

"…Don't be. There's nothing we can do about it, there's nothing _you _can do about it if I end up dying in the line of duty. You… know this, Temari-."

"Doesn't make it any easier. It really doesn't."

Shikamaru let out another sigh.

"I know. But nothing's going to make it easier. You… you know this, Temari. And… trust me. I don't want to end up dying out there either, if I can help it. I have people I have to live for. But…"

Shikamaru felt something clutch in his stomach, and thus stopped talking. When he slowly moved his hands to clutch his stomach, Temari eyed him, before looking away from him. After a few moments, she shook her head.

"This… entire war's a fucking mess."

Shikamaru nodded slowly.

"This entire world's bullshit right now."

"…We used to be allies."

"Hmph, we used to be drinking buddies."

Temari smirked, and began to reminisce.

"You were able to drink all of them under the table and out of the bar."

"And now I can barely survive an ambush with only one of them."

Shikamaru chuckled sadly. Temari looked towards him and narrowed her eyes.

"So… it was an ambush."

"I thought you said that Ino and Choji told you everything."

"Not everything. Just… tell me what happened."

Shikamaru took a deep breath.

"He came out of nowhere, purposely kept me on my feet so I couldn't think, then came close to me with one of his puppets and kept on firing barrages of darts at me. Of course, I got hit and fell. Then…"

Shikamaru looked towards Temari and narrowed his eyes.

"He came up to me and then shoved a kunai at my neck and tried to interrogate me about where you were, Tem. The more and more I didn't talk, the more and more he got angry."

Temari looked away from him, and back at the floor. As her mind began to think thoughts, Shikamaru finished:

"After all this time, and they're still looking for you. I mean… you didn't tell them _anything _before you left?"

"No, I didn't. Would you have been able to figure out a way to say 'Sorry, but I don't agree with your point of view, and I think you're going to plunge the village into an eternal war. So I'm going to go marry my boyfriend and indirectly work to stop you from ruining everything we've spent years working towards.'?"

Shikamaru shook his head.

"No."

"And that's why I just left. That, and one of them would've probably been able to guilt trip me into staying, anyways. And I didn't want that to happen."

Shikamaru shrugged, and then looked around again.

"So, back to my story. After that, I guess Ino restricted Kankuro with her jutsu, and then Choji picked me up and carried me to safety. And now I'm here."

He looked towards her, and then considered the next thing he was going to say very carefully, before allowing his worlds to flow from his mouth.

"Your brother's gotten strong. And it's only been… what… three years now?"

"Three years, yeah."

Temari sat back on the chair she was on, and then began to feel an ache in her heart. _After all these years, they were still searching for me? Fuck… who did I leave behind? _Her body made the motions that they usually did when she was thinking of her brothers, but this time Shikamaru didn't comment on it. Instead, he simply looked towards one of the windows in his room, and began to zone out, simply watching the clouds that flew overhead. It was a nice overcast day, and there were plenty to look at. And after all of these years, he still loved to enjoy the simple pleasures of the sky.

Meanwhile, Temari's mind began to wrestle with the same thoughts they had wrestled with on the days after she had left Sunagakure. How were her brothers even progressing without her? According to all of the news she was getting from friends and her husband, the Sand Ninja were operating ruthlessly, but this wasn't a new thing. Any sights-

She inclined forwards again, holding her belly. The same thing that had happened minutes ago. Shikamaru noted her movements, and then looked towards her again, feeling stress, along with excitement, happiness and worry.

"…When did the doctor say you were due again…?" He asked. His voice was a bit softer than before, and his words came out slowly and crafted. Temari slowly sat herself back up, and then found herself blushing at the topic.

"The little one's supposed to be out by now, actually," she answered. Then she allowed herself to smirk.

"Typical Nara. He's not even born and he's already lazy."

Shikamaru laughed at this.

"So I guess we've figured out that it's going to be a boy, then."

"Oh, I hope not. I don't think I'd be able to survive if I had to deal with you and some mini clone of you. Except with somehow even more crying and laziness, it seems."

"Pfft."

Shikamaru looked back at the ceiling.

"Well… I guess when the squirt comes out I'll try to spend more time around the house, too. I mean, I don't want to see your parenting techniques."

Temari smiled.

"And what's so bad about my techniques? And how can you have an opinion on them if you've never seen then in action?"

Shikamaru coughed twice.

"Well, I don't know how your parents were, and you're the type of woman who'd run around hitting people in the head until they understood something. I can't have the future Nara heir being raised like that."

"Oh? As opposed to your parenting? What will you be doing? Telling the kid to walk instead of showing him, and then just playing Shogi all day?"

"Worked for me."

"Good thing you grew up with a Mom."

"A rather troublesome one."

"Oh, dear. Our kid better not grow up saying that. Or else I'm going to go insane."

"Hm, well we'll see."

Shikamaru took another deep breath in. He then looked towards his wife, and smiled.

"And… that's why you shouldn't worry about me dying, Temari. Especially now, I have to stick around to make sure that the King is protected."

He then looked up to her eyes, and smiled.

"And the Queen piece, of course."

Temari allowed herself to be taken in by Shikamaru being sweet, and then smiled sadly back at him.

"The same way I have to stick around to make sure that while the King is protected, the Knight is also in good hands."

Shikamaru read into her words, and then nodded slowly.


	5. Son

Shikadai Nara was born November 11th in the 3rd year of the Konoha-Suna War. He was born three weeks late, three pounds underweight, and with a tuft of black hair on top of his head, with deep green eyes. He was also the reason why Temari had to spend an extra few weeks pregnant, and a longer than usual labour. And while she started off being angry and upset at how long it took, along with all of the complications after the birth, one look at the little guy instantly eased anything that the new mother had been feeling.

Shikamaru had sat beside her on a stool. An interesting reversal of how the two had been positioned just a few weeks ago. The two were taking turns holding the little one in their arms, looking at their new child, watching him breathe, watching and hearing him snore. Smelling that new baby smell, looking at him and seeing the both of them within him. The both of them awing when he yawned, and then the both of them instantly becoming upset when he began to cry again. Shikamaru's strong hold on his little body, and Temari's exhausted, yet soft grasp on him.

Neither of them could exactly believe it. They had a child now. Together. It was theirs. They were parents.

After Shikadai had fallen asleep, Temari quickly joined him, while Shikamaru simply watched over the two, and allowed his mind to think. The actual childbirth had been chaotic as anything, and it was no surprise that Temari had been so tired. There had been a lot of screaming, a lot of pushing, a lot of the Nara head being kicked out of the delivery room for "not helping the situation". When the child finally came out, being underweight as he was, he was quickly checked up on, before, thankfully, the doctors were able to find no other real issues with him, and gave the crying infant to his parents. It took them a while to calm him down, before Temari fed him, before the new family had spent the rest of the night simply in each other's arms, welcoming the newborn to the world, all while being in awe of what had happened.

But as Shikamaru placed his head against the back of the chair he sat in, he couldn't help but remind himself of the situation, and become quite nervous and concerned. He had become a father, and Temari a mother, in the third year of a war that seemed to have no expiration date, after all. There was much to worry about.

The Suna front was getting closer and closer to Konohagakure each day. What would happen if they ended up attacking the village directly? What would happen to both Temari and little Shikadai? While he had no doubt that Temari still possessed the intelligence and strength that had first attracted him to her in the first place, anything could happen. She could be overwhelmed, not easily, but it was still a possibility. Should he start setting up traps within his home, just in case? Should he ask for more protection?

Then, there was the familiar theme of him possibly being killed in the line of duty. He had promised Temari that he would try his best to not have that end up happening to him, but there were no guarantees. There had never been any guarantees. But especially now, when he had a son…

He wanted to be able to stick around a bit more, and raise him. His own father had tried his best, but ultimately the pressures of being Clan head, along with being on missions all of the time, had made whatever efforts he had tried null and void. Asuma was killed before he even saw his child, and therefore there was no real guidance from there. The typical Shinobi father narrative was the only thing Shikamaru really had, and it basically just dictated a life where the father was out on missions all of the time, while the wife would stay at home and raise the children.

He shook his head, and then looked at Temari's sleeping form. She wouldn't want that, not at all. Neither did Shikamaru. But it was something that they would probably be forced to try. It had worked with his parents. It had probably worked with hers. There weren't many options available to them. Shikamaru had to be on the front lines. He had to be busy. That was his duty. He was a commander, a _general _now. He had dedicated himself to his village. It was the Will of Fire. He had to protect _everyone._

Shikamaru's thinking was interrupted by the sound of his son yawning again. He looked towards the little green bundle, and then found himself smiling in pride. The kid already looked a lot like him, something that he predicted would only increase through the years. And all of the yawning. _Already tired, kiddo? All you did was get born. _

He reached out a hand, and then ruffled Shikadai's hair. What little of it he had at this point. Soon, it'd be put into a ponytail. Just like his. Soon, he might start showing traits of either of them. Maybe he'd become troublesome like his mother. Maybe he'd become like him. Maybe he'd become just like him. That… would be scary. No… that would be excellent.

The boy opened his mouth and yawned again, and then smacked his lips together afterwards. _Probably going to be like me. Most likely._

Shikamaru removed his hand, and then leaned back against his chair again. He would have to carve up his time and focuses, even more now. Before, it was the war, Temari, his friends, and making sure that Kurenai was alright. Now, it would have to be the war, Temari, his friends, Kurenai, _and _Shikadai. The tactical genius of Konoha secretly hoped that Temari and Shikadai wouldn't prove to be too troublesome, and then slapped himself for thinking in that way. It was stupid to want that. They were his family. They had every right to take up space in his life.

He then rewrote his wishes to hope that the war would eventually take up less time and space. It was a useless thing, and could have been over in a day or two had any of the combatants decided to use their brains. But little did he know…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The War Would Continue To Go On.

In the 4th year of the Konoha-Suna War, Kakashi Hatake stepped down as acting Hokage, and appointed none other than the village saviour, Naruto Uzumaki, as his successor. After a vote, the appointment was official, and by the spring of that year, Naruto finally fulfilled his dream. While Kakashi had cited "personal reasons" for why he stepped down, on the inside he knew Naruto and Gaara's relationship. If there was anyone in the world who could speak to Gaara and make him end the war, it was him. And so on the day of his appointment, Naruto contacted Gaara through a conference call, and asked him of what the two would do for the war. Days passed with no real answer from the man, and everyone had thought, or rather assumed, that the war would be over.

That was, until, a week later after Naruto's coronation, the leaf village had been attacked. That seemed to have been Gaara's answer.

Both Gaara and Kankuro had been spotted, and therefore most of their attention had been divided on keeping track of the two brothers. While the strongest Shinobi had went towards attempting to subdue the two of them, the rest of Konoha was under the attack of the other Sand Ninja. By the end of the attack, surprisingly, while there had been a lot of destruction to property and petty thefts, there had been no deaths committed by the Sand Ninja on that day, and as a response, there had been no murders committed by the Leaf Ninja either. Instead, the two sides simply fought each other to a standstill, until the Sand Ninja eventually backed off and diverted from the attack. But one thing was certain…

If this had been Gaara's answer, then the war was nowhere near being done.

And so things had reverted to the "normal" that everyone in the village had come to accept at this point in all of their lives. Shikamaru was allowed to stay at home with his wife and newborn son for a month longer, until he was sent back out to the front to strategize and provide support once again. Temari had returned to the day to day clan meetings, the house-keeping, and her long walks amongst the village, although in this day and age she quickly found that she began to have less time to herself, and soon found that she had to spend more and more time with her growing son. Whatever time she usually had left in the day to attempt to hang out with her girlfriends was soon found at home with the little one, taking care of him and sometimes trying to teach him how to do simple things, such as how to walk and how to talk. Or at least, attempting to, Shikadai had confirmed himself to be an extremely fussy and unhappy baby, always wanting to sleep when Temari would try to show him something, but of course he was always awake when he was hungry. And to make matters worse, while it seemed that the infant had inherited Shikamaru's laziness, he had also picked up on some of Temari's sass, occasionally sticking his tongue out at her as she talked, ignoring her while she demonstrated, and rolled his eyes occasionally while she talked. At first, she chalked this up to him simply being a baby, and not understanding anything about what he was doing. However, as the months went by, and he began to grow, Temari finally began to register for what it likely was:

Shikadai inheriting some of her genes.

Shikamaru finally returned from his tour on the front lines almost a year later, in the 4th year of the war, about five days before his son's first real birthday. For this occasion, Shikamaru decided to invite all of his friends over for a sort of blow-out party mixed with the baby shower that he and Temari never had the time to properly have. While most of the people he had invited turned out to be busy, at the very least, Ino, Sai, Choji, Karui and their kids had been able to come. The birthday fell on a Saturday, which meant that Shikamaru could stick around for the entire day as opposed to a couple hours after work, and therefore he spent a lot of time actually planning the entire day out, and thinking about things that he and his family and friends could do. However, all of this planning and plotting eventually became null when it became apparent to him that, despite Temari, his boy, despite barely being a year old, was somehow lazier than him.

He had woken up in time for his birthday, but had also quickly fell back asleep the moment his Father had done something other than simply placing him back down, or giving him food. Any attempt at him trying to wake his son again had gone awry, either the boy would come to cry (causing Temari to yell at Shikamaru, as per usual) or the boy would simply stick his tongue out at his father. He had shrugged, bringing his son out into the living room and placing him with his friend's kids, only for the boy to give each of them one glance, before leaving the children to themselves and finding a spot on the carpet that didn't seem too bad for a nap. When Shikamaru saw this, he tapped his boy on the shoulder, only for the boy to yawn. Eventually, after the second tap, Shikamaru got tired and simply found a spot in his living room to sit, proclaiming:

"Hmph. Party's over for him."

And it truly was. The boy continued to nap, save for two occasions where he woke up just so he could get fed and have his diaper changed, despite already having an entire night of sleeping, despite the efforts of everyone trying to wake him, and despite the great degree of noise that was happening around him. The kid had made up his mind of not participating in his own party, and so everyone else simply maneuvered around him. The adults talked, and the rest of the kids attempted to play before either falling asleep as Shikadai had, or getting bored of one another and trying to get the attention of their parents. Time passed, cake was sliced, talks were had, Shikadai continued to sleep, and despite his son's stubbornness, Shikamaru found himself having a relaxing day. Temari hadn't nagged him at all, the boy cried once, the other kids didn't fight, and for once the day could be spent just relaxing, and not thinking about the war at all. Shikamaru had completely been distressed, joking around with Choji, catching up with Ino and Sai, while Temari had spent a lot of her time with Karui, either discussing foreign food recipes (neither of them had been born in Konoha, after all), or bragging, both trying to figure out who truly had been the deadliest kunoichi.

And eventually, the day had ended. Shikamaru and Temari had both went to their front porch to see everyone off, while Shikadai sat in Temari's arms, having finally woken up, and watched everyone leave. Both of the other kids, Chocho and Inojin, had tried to make some sort of noise or movement to get Shikadai to acknowledge them, but Shikadai had simply stared at them, before his little face slowly curled into a frown. After failing to gain any attention from the boy, both Chocho and Inojin had left with their parents, and Temari had moved inside, as Shikamaru closed the door behind them.

Shikadai had attempted to go back to sleep again, but before he could do so, Temari brought the boy to a point where he was suspended in her arms in front of her, being held up by his torso, and looking into his mother's pissed off eyes.

"I can't believe you just sat there for you entire birthday party and just sat there sleeping!" She had yelled. Shikamaru watched from the door, and found himself rolling his eyes. _Not even a toddler yet and he's already being yelled at. Gotta learn how to not piss her off, kid._

"I mean, look at all that me and your Dad did for you today! I guess… you're still really young… but no! No! I know you did it on purpose! Come on, look at how those two were trying to get you to play, and you just napped and then ignored them! Why? They're going to be your future team-mates you know! Why didn't you-."

"_Twublesum."_

While Shikamaru had begun to zone out, as he usually did when his wife got to nagging, he immediately had tuned in upon hearing his son's voice for the first time. His eyes slowly set upon the chubby little thing that was his youngster, and then slowly panned up to Temari's softening features. Her previously angry eyes had went easy, and instead of being angry, she was simply looking at their kid in disbelief. Meanwhile, Shikadai was staring up at his mother, and then, evidentially liking her reaction, repeated himself.

_"Twublesum."_

His face had lit up, and then he began to giggle as he repeated his father's favorite word over and over again.

"Twublesum. Trou- troublesome! Troublesome! Troublesome. Trrrrroublesome!"

While Temari had shut her eyes in a mixture of happiness, pride, annoyance and defeat, Shikadai had quickly stopped repeating the word, and instead began to squirm in her arms. Temari slowly lowered their child to the ground, which was when he began to crawl down their hallway, and into the open door that led into his room. After doing so, she slowly turned towards Shikamaru, and had simply lowered her head in utter defeat, while her husband began to smirk.

"You've barely been here, and he's somehow taking after you."

Shikamaru chuckled to himself, but then slowly lowered his eyes.


	6. Continuance

But even as the family had seemingly been allowed to have moments in which they could relax, the backdrop of the Konoha-Suna War still existed, which made these moments few and far in between. Within a week of celebrating his son's first birthday, Shikamaru had to leave again, this time on an actual mission as opposed to just being on the front lines, and Temari found herself alone with their child. As per usual, her old routine would follow, along with the alterations that she had had to make for the sake of Shikadai. Her duties seemingly had no end nowadays, as the war had waged on, more and more responsibilities opened up for the clan leader, and while Shikamaru was at war, she was the one who would have to deal with all of it. While Shikamaru was away, she would also have to juggle whatever free time she had for herself with raising Shikadai, and maybe hoping that one of her friends (Who were now also juggling married life and children) had any spare time. Stressful as it was, Temari managed all of this quite finely, of course, in her own way.

And while each of them did their duties, the war continued to brew on. By the 6th year of the war, both sides were obviously exhausted, Shikadai was two, and Shikamaru and Temari had been married for six years. As it had been in the 3rd and 2nd years of the war, the front was even between the two villages, and so the Hokage had attempted to speak with the Kazekage about the terms to end the war. Again. The two had met where the forest met the sand, again, but there wasn't any real conversation, as per usual. The Kazekage had simply restated his demands at the beginning of the war; three members of the Hyuuga, Two members of the Nara, and Six members of the Inuzuka clan dead, plus a large portion of the Land of Fire, in retribution for the series of terrorist attacks that his village had suffered.

The series of terrorist attacks that The Land of Fire had not committed.

As per usual, Naruto had attempted to provide the proof of his village's innocence, but as per usual, to any trained eye, it wasn't enough. Gaara had everything to prove his proof null and void, and so showed them as he did all of the other times he had attempted to talk to the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village. Kankuro, his only Kage Guard after Temari had disappeared, simply had looked on and watched the ordeal with cold eyes, while Shikamaru and Sasuke, Naruto's own guards and advisors, had looked on in disbelief. It had been six years, and the same thing had happened over and over again.

Gaara really didn't believe them, but who was to blame him? He had seemingly solid evidence of their crimes. The crimes they had never actually done.

Naruto continued to go on and stutter, but after a few minutes of watching the Hokage attempt to make his case, the Kazekage and his bodyguard had simply stood up and turned to leave. At this, the Hokage had panicked, and Shikamaru watched him do so. Everyone in the tent knew that there likely wouldn't be another time when the war was at a stalemate like this, and if they didn't reach a white peace now, then when the war _did _end, it would end very badly for one of the sides. In a final attempt to prevent this, without thinking, the Hokage had spoken out of turn, and his voice had caused both of the Sand brothers to stop in their tracks.

"Gaara," Naruto stated. The 5th Kazekage didn't turn around.

"Yes?" He had said. Any who once knew Gaara before the war could tell that his voice was unusually cold. Even for the state that their two villages had been in, Naruto's voice at least still gave out the warmth that it always did.

Naruto took a gulp, and chose his next words carefully. There _had _to be a way to reach the Gaara that he, along with mostly everyone in the room, once knew. And as per usual, no matter how far a friend was gone, Naruto would try. He would always try.

"… Aww, screw it. Let's just go ditch this entire meeting, and just go get some ramen. Ichiraku's still open right now, you know?"

Shikamaru could faintly hear Sasuke use one of his hands to harshly cover his face. Shikamaru had nearly done the same, but instead had found himself watching the scene in front of him. Sasuke was doing the same behind his hand. Out of everyone here, maybe he could be the one to talk some sense into the Master of the Sands. He had done so with Sasuke, he had done so with him before, and there was a great chance that he could work his magic agai-

Suddenly, the Nara Clan head could hear someone's teeth grit. He quickly deducted that it was Gaara's, and watched slowly as the red-headed man's hands turned to fists. The taller Kankuro, at this moment without his hood or his face paint, slowly turned his head towards his little brother. And through those gritted teeth, he could hear Gaara's anguished voice.

"…Naruto… Uzumaki, I do _not _dine with backstabbers."

Before Naruto could say another word, Kankuro had opened the flap to the tent, and both the Kazekage and his older brother left. There wasn't any point in chasing. The war would go on.

Even as Naruto slowly sunk his head into his arms, and looked down onto the ground.

And so the war quickly resumed after the meeting. Gaara, as per usual, had given the Leaf an entire week to re-think their position, and as per usual, the leaf had officially declined. Another castle-town was attacked, and the war started up again.

And that meant that both Temari and Shikamaru Nara returned to their schedules. Except, now because of the fatigue, everything was a bit more chaotic.

Sometimes Shikamaru would come home from an extremely long war council, and find himself falling asleep on their front porch. After Shikadai would casually complain about his Dad being a bum (It seemed that the boy was learning all of the _wrong _words), Temari would carry him to their bedroom, make him eat as he needed to, and then help him sleep. Sometimes, Shikamaru wouldn't' come home from the war council at all, and Temari would be notified that her husband had decided to simply sleep in the council room until the next meeting the day after. Sometimes, during the time he was supposed to be on leave, Shikamaru would be notified that he needed to return to the front immediately, and this would cause the Nara Leader to drop everything that he was doing, and quickly run off. Sometimes, Shikamaru would come home with a multitude of scars on his chest, and unlike the times before, Temari wouldn't be able to treat him at home, and would have to personally carry him to the infirmary. After this, she would likely scold his unconscious or tired body for being so careless.

There was another thing that had interrupted their regular routines, and it was the addition of their child to their lives.

While at first Shikadai would simply watch, as the years went on, the boy became more and more directly involved with his parent's routines, instead of simply being another thing that Temari or Shikamaru would have to tend to after a rough day working. By the 6th Year of the war, the boy was three, and the fact that he could walk and talk soon became an issue. Sometimes, when his father would come home late, and simply stumble into his and Temari's room and try to sleep, his boy would walk behind him, trying to investigate. By the time he was four, he began to notice the pained look on both his mother's and father's face, when he would ask if he had any Aunts or Uncles. By the 7th year of the war, Yoshino Nara passed away of a sickness, and while Temari had to help Shikamaru deal with his grief, she also had to help their son deal with his first ever loss. By the time he was five, the boy began to ask his father more and more specifics about the war he fought, soon learn that finding out those answers was easier if he just asked his mother, play shogi with both of his parents, and spend less time napping and more time either trying to persuade some of his friends to hang out with him, or simply find a spot in their backyard and simply watch the clouds, like father like son. By the 9th year of the war, he had completely started school, and while he hated it (it was "Too troublesome" according to him), the friends he had played with earlier in his life were there, so it wasn't as bad as he thought. This time that Shikadai spent at school helped Temari schedule her day, and for that year Shikamaru found himself coming home more and more "on time", and thus more steadily was able to eat breakfast and dinner with his family at the same time.

And by the 10th year of the war, with Shikadai's 2nd year of school, Shikamaru's 37th birthday, Temari's 40th birthday, Shikadai's 7th birthday and the 10th anniversary since Shikamaru and Temari had married, all of the Nara, along with the rest of the leaf village and no doubt the Sand village as well, were glad to find themselves in a hiatus of the war.

The year had begun with a small skirmish over a bordering sand village in the land of Wind, but other than that, all of the fighting had been due to missions, and not due to attempted land grabs. For the first year in the war, neither the Hokage nor the Kazekage had been away from their villages, and simply been at home, doing war preparation. But as the year had went on, the shaky "peace" seemed to have continued. The missions against each village had slowly stopped until it ceased, and soon, there was no more "front lines". This meant that both of the Kage could recall their ninja back to their villages, on some sort of leave, and thus Shikamaru found himself working at home.

And as the year went on, he found it odd that his work began to… diminish. His time at the Hokage's office with Naruto slowly began to become less and less, as the man began to send his advisors home earlier, and simply finish whatever work that still needed to be done by himself. This had given all of his advisors, including Shikamaru, even more time to spend with their families and their friends, and soon Shikamaru found himself spending entire days at home. This still meant that he had to work in some capacity, of course, Temari wouldn't let him laze around _too_ _much, _but now this work could be something other than simply more preparation to kill people. This work could be something that he actually wanted to do. Like take care of his family and hang out with friends.

And so, everyone had let their guard down, just a little bit. Naruto continued his attempts to contact Gaara to perhaps sign a peace treaty. People spent time with their friends and family, or simply to themselves. And for a while, everything in the village was peaceful…

That was, until that fateful day.

On October 23rd, of the Tenth Year of the Konoha-Suna War.

When the uneasy peace ended.


	7. Trespass

"Are you ready, Kankuro?"

The man that Gaara, the 5th Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, was addressing seemed not to be paying much attention. The younger brother simply watched as the older one continued to look at the scene in front of them, seemingly amazed by what the man was seeing in front of him. After a few moments of him not responding, Gaara allowed himself to look towards the sights as well.

The view of the Village Hidden in the Leaves on its afternoon truly was captivating, or at least it was this day. Since the last time they had both been to the village, five years ago, it seemed to have only grown. In addition to everything that was there before, a few skyscrapers were beginning to be built, and there were entire tracts of forest that had never been there before. These new trees were the source of all of the fallen leaves that he could faintly see across the village, decorating the streets and floating about the air. From their position on top of the wall, he couldn't see any individuals below him, but he could still faintly hear the sounds of civilians and villagers. Laughing. Playing. Talking. A bit of arguing. Some orders. But, mostly innocent people…

Being completely ignorant of their approach.

Gaara's eyes continued to scan the village, and the two other guards that had been brought with him caught his feelings, and sat down as well. It was weird that there wasn't much security on the Konohagakure wall today. It was even stranger that the group of uninvited travellers had been able to sit still for so long. And upon their travels to this village, they hadn't seen a single ninja, and even in their enemy's village, no one had even detected them.

The Kazekage looked to this right, and then looked to his left. The view of the village below was beautiful, but he correctly assumed that eventually _someone _would be competent enough to do their jobs, and detect them. That was, if they hadn't been detected already.

And so, Gaara simply tapped his brother on the shoulder. The Puppet master shivered, and then turned around.

"Ah? …Oh. Sorry. Sorry I was just-."

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Gaara asked. His voice was informal, as it always was with his brother, but still commanded a bit of respect.

Kankuro nodded.

"Very. We… don't see leaves colour like that in Sunagakure. Matter of fact we don't see 'em at all."

"I know." Gaara looked around again, as Kankuro finally stood up and prepared himself to move with his Kage. The younger man then furrowed his brows, and frowned.

"…We also don't see an entire village full of traitors in Sunagakure either though, don't we?"

"Nope." Kankuro said.

He took a deep breath after this. Gaara continued.

"Let's go. The quicker we complete this mission, the quicker we go home."

"Right."

Gaara turned around to face the other two ninja that stood behind him, to make sure that they were ready to go. With a simple nod, both of them reassured their Kage that they were ready. After he turned back to the man standing in front of him, Gaara rushed forwards, and jumped off of the wall. Shortly, he could hear the other three that had come with him jump with him. Landing on a sheltered rooftop below, he prepared to jump again, before he heard a sudden cough behind him. He turned his head to see Kankuro again, and brought his brows together in slight annoyance.

"Hm?"

Kankuro took a deep breath, and then finally spoke again.

"Are… Are we really about to do this?"

While the other two members of the party said nothing, Gaara felt himself resisting the urge to place a hand over his face. He rolled his eyes.

"Yes," he stated, flatly. "…I thought you didn't have an issue with it…"

"No… I don't. I… I just…"

"You just… what?"

"Was just… checking it. I'm… I'm ready."

Gaara's eyes filled slightly with worry. But, reminded of his audience, he had to temper his feelings a bit more.

"If you're uncomfortable with this… then you can stay at the base camp."

"No. I'm your safeguard throughout everything else so clearly I'm going to guard you now. It's just… in _his home, Gaara?"_

Kankuro's face filled with a hint of guilt. Gaara's filled with the same emotion, but he was able to hide his emotions better, of course, with twenty years of being Kage under his belt, it had become easy to. He looked away from his brother once again, and he found himself being once again captivated by the multi-coloured leaves that flew around now.

The wind was strong today. Now that they were off the wall, the foreign, multi-coloured leaves that they had seen from far away went by their faces, and therefore played a beautiful scene in front of them. And those leaves made Gaara consider.

"...He is going to die in his own home…"

Gaara flinched as one of the leaves fell onto his face, and then simply flinched his cheek to get it off of him. Kankuro's eyes were still on him, expecting some sort of answer or reprieve. Something to take the guilt away from what he was going to do. At the best case scenario, an assurance that neither of them were about to do it.

But at the same time, he predicted that that would not happen. And this prediction turned out to be correct.

Another leaf came across Gaara's face, while another flew by Kankuro's. Gaara creased his brows more. This leaf had been orange. The same colour as the tracksuit of someone he used to know.

_…For fuck's sake, Naruto. Do you control the leaves now too? _

Gaara's face got dark suddenly, and he turned around and away from his older brother.

"…We don't have time to feel onus. And what we're doing… it'll end the war. In a day. Finally, after an entire decade of fighting. It will _**end**_. So let us just finish this. All _he _needs to do… is die. I've… we've been over this. I… told you about this…"

Gaara began to jump, and Kankuro and the other two who followed him were a flash behind. Kankuro gulped, and kept whatever else he had inside within him as he did so. After the third leap away from their previous position, his face had slowly returned to the stony one that he had been wearing before getting atop the leaf village's wall, and his brows narrowed. While a tinge of guilt clouded a corner of his mind, he had begun to try and believe Gaara's words. _What we're doing… it'll end the war. _

He had to believe that. It had to be _true._ Gaara had never seemed so sure of anything for the entire ten years that this tragedy had been going on. Why would he be so sure of something that wasn't at least mostly true? His brother was no fool. And this hadn't been something that had been thought up overnight. It had required planning, co-ordination, a draft, a rewrite of that draft. The hypothesis that Gaara held now had to be close to the truth at this point, why else would he make sure that he came himself? Why else would Kankuro be with him now, as he always was? If Gaara's plans and ideas weren't always right, or at least almost always right, then why would he have ever been able to become the Kazekage?

But even as he had been able to at least convince himself that what Gaara had said was true, he still couldn't help to become at least a bit cautious of the plan. There were so many avenues where they could go wrong. So many avenues where Gaara could be harmed. So many avenues where he could be wron-

_No. This isn't me. Shut up, we'll be fine. Just… it's just one man._

One man. Kankuro looked up, through his purple paint and the leaves that flew into his face, and on the back of his little brother and Kazekage. The man who was to die today wasn't the man who had changed his little brother from the monster he once was into the hero that he was today, and that was a comfort. Neither of the two brothers would be able to live with themselves if they had killed _him _in such a cowardly way. But the man who was to die today would no doubt still impact the both of them nevertheless. This man… had grown close to the siblings, all three of them, before the war, and once fought alongside them, once fought _under _Gaara, as if he was a Sand Shinobi himself. This man… had an intellect that could destroy anyone's, his strategies in the war had been top-notch, and if the Hidden Sand didn't have such a great group of generals and fearless Shinobi, the war would've been over in minutes. The man who was about to die-.

"Another thing, Kankuro."

Kankuro looked a bit higher than he was before, and the back of Gaara's blood-red hair was his focus. The man couldn't turn around due to the fact that he was jumping, but his voice still radiated clearly and strong.

Kankuro nodded. "Hm?"

There was a pause, before Gaara spoke again, his speech heavy.

"You said that you asked him before this, and he said he didn't know where she is. Well… this time we'll make sure that he talks. He _will have _to know where she is."

_Temari..._

The older brother instantly gripped both of his fists. Gaara began to jump faster and farther, and Kankuro followed him as he did this. Both of the brothers were now showing their emotions plainly and clearly on their faces.

Both of them were angry, but also deadly determined. She had been missing for 10 years… and it was now time to find her.

Another jump. Gaara spoke.

"We'll first take out their sentries and defences, their tower is just up ahead. And then… we end this. The search, this war, _**everything**_."


	8. Relaxation

Shikamaru braced himself as he felt a tickle go off in his nose. Then, in the lonely house that he stood in, he found himself sneezing loudly. As a small piece of mucus began to drip out of his nose, he quickly placed his other, free hand on his nose to wipe it away, and then rubbed it off in a nearby napkin. He took a look around his surroundings, before rolling his eyes and sighing.

_I'm not sick. I wonder what it could've been._

After finishing dealing with his bodily functions, the Nara Clan head continued to put away the bounty from his trip to the grocery store into his fridge. In a moment he was finished putting everything away, and had then placed the paper bag that had held the food into a cupboard beneath the sink, the same place that Temari had always placed the paper bags. And in another moment, he was standing just outside of his kitchen, and looking in, making sure that nothing else was out of place or in disarray. After inspecting the kitchen to his liking, he had turned around, and moved himself into his living room. On his way there, he had looked on the walls and on the floors, once again making sure that everything was clean. After that, upon reaching his destination, he simply pulled out his Shogi table, and began to set it up in the living room.

He took out the pieces and began to place them in their allotted spots. Once he was finished this, he placed down three cushion, two large one for the adults, and one small one for a child. He opened the window to the room slightly, to allow some air to come in, and then quickly returned himself to the shogi table, making some finishing touches to make sure that it was set up the way he wanted it to be. Afterwards, he took a final look into the hallway, then moved back into the kitchen, just to double check and make sure that truly everything was done properly. He made a trip to the entranceway of his home, making sure that it was clear and clean. Finally, after making sure that everything was the way he wanted it to be, he returned to his shogi table, sat himself down on one of the adult cushions, and began to play the game by himself, waiting for the other two members of his family to appear and fill the other cushions.

It was in the late afternoon of Wednesday, October 23rd that Shikamaru had decided to give Temari a "break", and simply just have a "family night" with her and Shikadai. It had been a long time since one of them had decided to do so, and with the hiatus in the war, anytime around today would be the perfect time for it. None of the three Nara exactly enjoyed energetic things, at least Shikamaru and Shikadai didn't, but Shogi had somehow become the family's unofficial game over the years (Probably since, other than Go, it was the only game that Shikamaru played and Shikadai had basically grown up watching his father do that), and since it was the only game that all three of them really enjoyed playing that didn't require much energy, it was the first thing that Shikamaru had thought of preparing and setting up. For the food and snacks that the family would likely also eat today, he had stopped by on the grocery store on his way back from work, to refill the fridge and also add a few things for treats. When he got home, the house had already been clean, a testament to Temari's skill, but the Clan head made sure to double check. Finally, with everything else in order, he mentally allowed himself to sit down on one of the two cushions he had laid out, and decided that practicing some maneuvers by himself wouldn't be so bad, as he waited.

Finally, he heard the front door to his home open. He looked over to a clock on a counter near him. 3:30pm, it read. Shikamaru had expected her to be here when he returned from his advisement today, an hour earlier, but she hadn't been. No note, or anything. But then again, she probably hadn't been expecting him so early, as he usually found his way into the house until after 5pm on most days. He shrugged, and then slowly began to place the pieces back into their original spots, preparing for his wife as he could hear her walk down the hallway.

_Now, the only thing to make this day better… no nagging. None at all._

He heard bags fall to the ground, and then heard light steps. Shikamaru smirked. He heard a fridge open, and then heard a sharp gasp from the kitchen. Afterwards, he heard some more footsteps. He smirked a bit more, and then slapped his hand onto the floor in his room, making a loud sound. He heard a gasp, and then looked towards the entranceway to his living room to see the cruelest kunoichi of his generation rush to the opening, and almost rush through it to investigate the noise, before stopping at the door once she saw Shikamaru.

Shikamaru then watched as his wife's eyes slowly scanned the room he sat in. He stayed seated on his cushion as her eyes began to narrow at the sight she was seeing. The house was clean, her fridge was stocked, everything was quiet, and her husband was sitting on a cushion in front of her, playing shogi, and presumably waiting for her to sit down and join him. To make matters even weirder, their son hadn't come back from school yet, and it was early in the afternoon. It was… unusual to say the least.

Shikamaru spent a few more moments being quiet, before Temari finally broke the silence.

"… Shikamaru what the hell are you trying to do?"

Shikamaru leaned back on his two hands, and simply shrugged.

"Giving you a break."

Temari's face continued to be quizzical.

"…How are you even here early today?"

"The Hokage sent his advisors back early. The war's basically on a hiatus now. Remember, I told you that a while ago?"

"Oh, right."

Temari continued to look confused.

"So… you aren't going to go out back and watch the clouds or something?"

Shikamaru shrugged.

"Not today. Put that stuff down and let's play. I owe you a rematch, remember?"

"…Who do you think you're talking to?"

"A woman who needs a rest."

Temari continued to stand at the door, being dumbfounded at the things that Shikamaru was telling her. Usually, the two Nara males that she took care of and loved from day to day were exceptionally lazy. While they each had their times of showing her that they truly did love her, it usually wasn't something like this. Eventually, after a moment or two of continuing to stand there, Temari rolled her eyes, headed back to the kitchen to place the bags in her hands on the kitchen counter, and then returned to sit down in front of Shikamaru on the cushion that he had positioned on the other side of the table.

Shikamaru spent the moments before she opened her mouth again to take in the sight of his wife. Over the ten years that they had been married, she had aged, but not nearly to the point where any of her beauty had left her. Her skin was still smooth for the most part, save for the few wrinkles that appeared around her mouth and eyes, and her body was still in good shape, with not a lot of excess weight and an overall healthy figure. She still kept her hair in her four ponytails, her eyes were still that captivating green colour, and they still had, even when she was scowling, a soft look to them. There was a small scar on the right side of her chin from an incident 15 years ago, but other than that her face was still the face Shikamaru had fallen in love with. Today, she wore a black kimono, similar to the one that she used to wear all of the time, with a red belt wrapped around her waist.

Temari spent the same moments to look over her husband, and then silently also noted that his appearance hadn't changed much either. He still wore his hair up in his signature ponytail, aside from his black goatee and a few wrinkles around his mouth and eyes, there was no major altercations in his face, and he was still skinny, except for maybe a few pounds of muscle around his arms. From the time he had gotten back, whenever he had gotten back, Shikamaru seemingly had found the time to shed his regular Jonin outfit for a casual light blue yukata, not even bothering to wear any socks or sandals within his house. Temari found herself rolling her eyes at this, but eventually the both of them returned their attention to the board in front of them.

This was going to be an interesting match. The two usually played shogi together on the times they both found themselves at home at the same time, and as a result Temari had slowly gotten used to Shikamaru's moves and strategies while playing this game. When they had first started playing, she was quite easy to beat, but the latest matches they had had ended up with Shikamaru winning by a move or two. She was definitely getting better.

Shikamaru made the first move, moving one of his pieces forwards on the table. Temari considered the first move, before moving one of her pieces forwards as well. Shikamaru slowly moved another one of his pieces forwards as well, and Temari followed suit. He moved another one of his pieces, and she did the same. From three moves, Shikamaru found himself chuckling softly to himself. Temari raised a brow immediately.

"What's so funny?" She asked. Shikamaru silently noted that her voice hadn't changed much either, and it still held the command, power, and yet melody from all those years ago. The Nara Head shrugged, and simply moved another one of his pieces forwards.

"You're going to lose." Upon hearing his voice again, Temari noticed that Shikamaru's voice had changed. Ten plus years of smoking would do that to a man, and his voice had gotten deeper and more rugged. She didn't exactly mind, although she inwardly worried about what all of those cigars and cigarettes were doing to his lungs and body.

But it was time to think of the now, the Shogi game in front of her. She rolled her eyes.

"No I'm not."

She moved another one of her pieces. Shikamaru continued to watch her, before asking another question.

"…So, when does Shikadai get back, usually?

"He's usually here by now, actually. I'd give him a few minutes."

"Mm." Shikamaru moved another one of his pieces, taking out one of hers. Temari cringed.

"I told you you'd lose."

"We'll see. It's just one piece."

"Mm."

Temari moved another one of her pieces.

"…Can't believe there hasn't be a skirmish or anything for so long," she said idly. Shikamaru nodded, and then moved another one of his pieces. At this point, he was in a good position to start, and would likely win the match unless Temari caught onto his strategy.

"It's weird, isn't it?"

Temari moved another one of her pieces.

"But… nothing's been signed yet? Is that still the deal?"

Shikamaru moved a piece.

"Nothing's been signed. And any attempts at establishing contact with Gaar- I mean the Kazekage, have been unsuccessful."

Upon the mention of her brother's name, Temari's eyes darkened, and she sighed deeply.

"I see."

Temari moved a piece, before noticing a gap in Shikamaru's tactic.

"You're not protecting your king."

"Hm?"

She pointed to the shogi board.

"It's wide open."

"I know."

"I could win this in a move if I really wanted to."

"Then go ahead. You'll see what happens."

Temari considered for a moment, before moving a piece. Shikamaru moved a piece, and took out her other piece. Temari moved another, and Shikamaru moved another. Temari took out another piece, and then the both of them felt a pause in their play as they both heard a door slide open.

"Moooomm. Hoommmmeeeee."

Both husband and wife looked at each other in the eyes, before hearing some footsteps slowly come towards them. They were rather soft, and both of them trained their eyes to the door of their living room just in time to see their seven year old son slug his way through the hallway and appear at the door.

They watched as his green eyes, the same colour and look as his mother's, slowly looked over the scene in front of him. After a moment of doing this, Shikadai yawned, not bothering to put a hand over his mouth, and decided to greet his parents.

"'Sup."

He then noticed his father sitting in front of his mother, and raised a brow.

"Huh? Dad? You're usually not back this ear-."

"Address your father properly, Shikadai," Temari lightly scolded. Shikamaru looked over to her to see that she had closed her eyes, and while her face was a blank, he could tell that she was trying to keep her obvious irritation towards their son under her skin. He then looked towards Shikadai, who was now leaning against the door that lead to their living room.

"How do I even address my own Da-."

"_Father, _he's your _father, Shikadai._ And you would start with _greeting him._"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He personally didn't really care how his son addressed him from a day to day basis, but it was something that Temari was a bit particular about. She was a strict woman.

He saw Shikadai roll his eyes, and then sigh loudly. Shikamaru frowned at this. The boy looked exactly like him when he had been younger, except for his mother's eyes, and if Shikamaru remembered anything from his childhood, it was the fact that he would have never done what Shikadai was doing right now. Simply disregarding his Mom. Because of what came after. The yelling. The annoyed look from his own father. The scolding and the grounding. The loss of privileges.

Temari slowly opened her eyes and looked towards her son. Her son simply looked lazily into his mother's eyes. Temari narrowed her eyes.

"…Shikad-."

"Alright then I'm just going to head to my room. See you both at dinner!"

Shikadai quickly exited the room, and the two could hear their son begin to walk slowly towards his room. Shikamaru looked back towards Temari and saw her face instantly get red with rage. The husband rolled his eyes.

_Nope, no. We're not doing this today._

Sometimes he could swear the boy purposely pissed his mother off. As he heard Temari begin to stand up, she heard her husband clear his throat loudly. She could then hear a piece move, and she turned her head back to the table to see that Shikamaru had moved a piece.

He was looking at her now, his face with a light frown. "Your move, Tem."

Temari's eyes narrowed at his, as her face continued to redden in anger. "What!? You thi-."

"We're not done here."

Temari stood silent for a moment.

"…Are you just seriously going to tak-."

"I said you needed a break."

"He's just so -."

Shikamaru looked straight in her eyes and gestured to the game table in front of them again. He didn't say another word. After a few more moments of being angry, Temari huffed in defeat, and sat back down at the table. Shikamaru's face softened as Temari moved another piece.

"Where does he even get that mouth from?" She muttered. Shikamaru moved another one of his pieces as his wife went on.

"He's disrespectful, lazy, doesn't take things seriously, always talks poorly of all of the girls in his class, complains about doing everything other than napping and sleeping, but also somehow is brash, impatient, the few times he does want something he wants it right now-."

"Well everything but the last three things are from me." Shikamaru sneered. Temari moved one of her pieces, and then scowled at him.

"Don't remind me."

Shikamaru moved another one of his pieces, and then continued to smirk.

"He'll grow out of it eventually. I did."

"Doesn't mean he's not going to be a nuisance in the meantime."

"Mmhmm."

Temari moved another one of her pieces. She was awfully close to Shikamaru's king piece now.

"I thought you said that I was going to lose," she jeered. Shikamaru's face continued to be jovial. She noticed this.

"I can't believe I'm so close. Aren't you always going on about how important the King is, Shikamaru? So you can defend him perfectly in reality, but in a game you-."

Shikamaru moved a piece, and ended up taking out the piece he was threatening him with. She looked back to her side of the board, seeing that she was quickly running out of pieces. He sighed calmly, and then leaned his head back.

"I thought you were going to be able to see through that," he muttered. Temari looked up at him with annoyed eyes.

"Wha-."

"I was testing this new strategy out, you see. I leave my king 'open'. The enemy thinks that I'm not paying attention, when I am. When my enemy comes for my king, I get them."

Temari moved another piece, trying to counter him, but her spouse countered successfully, and the piece she used was gone. She moved another piece, and he got her again. And again, and again.

Her brows frowned with agitation, and Shikamaru found himself snickering lightly at this. She looked cute sometimes, when she would frown. Of course, if she ever got irritated to the point where she was angry, it quickly became not fun. The two continued to play until Shikamaru was able to move his final piece into position, right beside her king, capturing him.

She let out a groan. His smile increased.

"Heh. Looks like I won."

"I thought I had you this time, too."

"You think that every time."

"Shut up."

"Yes ma'am."

The two just stood there for a while. Temari looked over the shogi table, while Shikamaru found himself looking over his wife. They could faintly hear the sound of their son putting something down in his room, and eventually the two of them looked back to each other. Temari gave him a light smile.

"…Thanks. I had fun." She said. Shikamaru smiled at this.

"Good. We can play again if you'd like."

"Oh? You don't have work?"

"They let me off early. There really isn't anything to do." Shikamaru slowly stood back up.

"Do you have much work left to do though?"

"Well, I have to at least start making dinner soon."

"Alright. I'll help you with that then."

Temari slowly narrowed her eyes.

"… You're being awfully helpful today. Had a revelation at work or something?"

Shikamaru slowly smirked at her more.

"You don't remember what day this is, do you woman?"

"Umm, no," she said. She tilted her head slightly.

"What day is it?"

"Our anniversary. Ten years, Tem."

Temari's eyes slowly widened, and then her face softened. Shikamaru watched the emotions on her face, and then slowly stood to stand up while she was still going through the emotions.

It had been ten years since they had gotten married. This also meant that it had been ten years since the war began. Ten years since she had chosen him. Ten years since she had left Sunagakure for good…

Ten years since she had left her brothers.

She felt a small pain in her chest, and coughed, leaning forwards and placing a fist at her lips. _No, it's my anniversary. I'm not thinking about this shit. _Before she could think of anything else, she felt a pair of hands fall onto her shoulders, and then slowly begin to massage them. She let out a light moan, before also feeling a body press itself against her back. She began to blush slightly, and then allowed a smile to come across her face.

Shikamaru was up to his old tricks, it seemed.

She felt breath on her neck when he spoke.

"Happy 10th."

She chuckled, silently marveling at how Shikamaru's hands were quickly making her forget about her previous thought process. She also laughed at the role reversal that was going on, usually, in his time of need, it was _her _to massage him, and tell him that everything would be okay. In her own special way. Eventually, she responded to her husband.

"Happy 10th to you too, Shikamaru," she said. Shikamaru slowly began to go deeper in his massage, and eventually his hands left her shoulders, and went to her back.

Temari moaned a bit more. Shikamaru spoke.

"How about we play one or two more games, and then I can help you in the kitchen?"

"You're awfully not-lazy today, Nara."

Shikamaru's face lit up.

"And you've only been angry for a little bit."

"And you've actually been helping out."

"And you've actually been mostly calm."

Shikamaru moved his hands a little bit lower, and Temari shivered.

"Mm… we should have an anniversary every day."

"Yep." Shikamaru's hands slowly left her lower back, and instead reached forwards to wrap themselves around her.

"Just… get out the game, kick Shikadai into his room or out, and just play."

"Yep."

Temari heard the shuffling of feet outside in the hallway. As Shikamaru slowly came to her ear, she could hear another voice from outside the room.

"Mom. Dad. Heading out. Going to the Yamanaka's. Will be back for dinner. Later."

The both of them heard the door open and close, and then Temari rolled her eyes. Shikamaru, on the other hand, seemed to not be affected much, and simply laid his head to rest of on her neck.

"Well, looks like we can do what we want to for a few hours, Mm?"

Temari turned her head to his, and then spent a few moments looking at her husband's face. No scars, no altercations. Light wrinkles, just like hers. Light, lazy smile.

Shikamaru found himself looking into her eyes as well, and then the two looked for moments longer, before Temari finally took a breath, and moved into Shikamaru's mouth for a kiss. While their lips were connected, the head of the Nara clan turned her around, to enable him to go a bit deeper. Their tongues wrestled lightly, Temari's trying to make up for the lost Shogi game while Shikamaru's trying to keep her in her place, and soon Shikamaru had snaked her arms around her again, this time with her facing him. Temari did the same, and slowly moved her hands to the back of his head. Upon this feeling, Shikamaru slowly pushed the two of them beside the game board, and placed her back onto the floor, climbing ontop of her.

It was as it usually was. She initiated the romantic encounter, and he simply went along with it. It wasn't like he was complaining. Usually when she wanted it, he wanted it too. The luck of knowing when your soul mate wanted the same as you. Soon, both of their hands went into each other's hair, and their chests were completely stuck together. The two slowly began to feel the heat between them, before inevitably, one of them broke the act.

Temari.

After her body had declared her mate the winner of the tongue-wrestling match, she slowly broke away from the kiss. Shikamaru looked at her with a confused look on his face, before Temari slowly spoke.

"I still have to make dinner. And I still have to kick your ass in a game of Shogi. Or two. After that… well… I'm all yours."

Temari pecked a kiss on his cheek while Shikamaru took a few moments to consider her words. After those moments, he sighed, and then rolled off of her. Well, she hadn't completely denied him. And it was good that she remembered the dinner. And, as well, it would've have been awkward for their son to have walked in on his parents having sex. And, he _did _owe her a rematch in Shogi, at least one of them.

He laid on his back side his wife, who also laid on her back, her hair slightly messed up. His hair was in the same condition. They both laid there for a few more seconds, before both of them slowly got up, and both walked towards the kitchen. The shogi game would have to be cleaned up a bit later.


	9. Preparations

_Nine Hours Later…_

Kankuro stood within a tree above the courtyard to the main household. The sky had been pitch black, except for the moon, and the lights within the house weren't on, so the puppet master used the night vision goggles that one of his group, a strong fellow named Muta, had brought. He looked around the area in front of him, and as he slowly found that there weren't any guards, or anyone in the area, he took off his goggles, and then turned towards his right.

"I don't see anyone."

Gaara slowly stood up from his position of sitting on the branch of the tree. If it wasn't for his pale skin and his red hair, Kankuro wouldn't have been able to see him. It was odd, how easily the man was able to blend into the environment, even if it was dark.

"Good." He moved to leave the tree, but before he could jump out of it, he noticed that Kankuro wasn't moving. Simply, his brother's face seemed to be fixed on the house that the two were about to go into. Gaara stood there, waiting for him to move, before giving up, and sitting down on the tree.

_Not this again._

"Kankuro…" he growled. He had spent the entire day with him, and this topic kept on coming up. This guilt. This feeling. And as a Kage, he couldn't let himself feel these feelings anymore.

Kankuro continued to stare at the house in front of him, before finally registering that his brother was talking to him. He snarled.

"We're going to kill him in his sleep, Gaara."

The Kazekage frowned.

"Yes." His voice was flat, but there really wasn't much else to say.

Before Kankuro could protest anymore, Gaara jumped down from the tree, and then motioned for his brother to follow him. Kankuro sighed, and then slowly lowered himself to the ground as well, making no major amount of noise.

The two were in a beautiful garden, now. It made sense for this particular clan to pay close attention to botany and nature, but it seemed like these particular members loved it a little bit more. Along with the giant tree that the two had been hiding in, the garden was dotted neatly with different plants and fungi, and as a form of respect for the work done, as both of the brothers walked towards the backdoor of the home, they avoided stepping on anything.

When they both finally walked up onto the deck, Gaara slightly turned his head to survey his surroundings fully. The moonlight was proving to be enough to allow both of his group to see on this night, as there wasn't much to see. The house was closed off, right next to a forest, so there wouldn't be any interruptions. The closest home other than this one was a while away. Their future victim couldn't have much people living with him, and if he did, they likely wouldn't be able to pose much of a threat. Unless, by some off chance Naru-

Gaara suddenly grit his teeth, and then slid open the door to the back of the house himself. Before he could walk in, Kankuro took a quick look at the expression on the Kage's face, and then stepped in front of him. Gaara looked up towards him, and Kankuro simply frowned.

"Your rank is higher than mine," he whispered. While there weren't any lights on in the proximity, they had to be careful to not disturb things too much. There was always a chance of intervention. "I should go first. In case there are any traps."

The 5th Kazekage nodded, and then after the puppet master walked inside, he walked in behind him, closing the door slowly behind him.

_No lock for the back door? An advisor to a Kage cannot possibly be this stupid._

Gaara then turned back towards Kankuro, who was looking down the hallway they were standing in now. The house seemed… homely, to say the least. Some of the walls had illustrations of deer etched onto them, there were a few benches and shelves that lined the walls, and they all seemed to have books on them. One or two held a stray kunai or shuriken, and then man found himself huffing at this. There were two windows on either side of him now, and ahead to the side there was a series of rooms, before the hallway curved.

Kankuro slowly then reached into the pack that he was carrying on his back to take out one of his scrolls, but when Gaara noticed this, he simply lifted up a hand and shook his head.

"Wait until we see him. You might not even have to fight."

Kankuro paused, and then nodded. Preparing himself, he took a deep breathe, and then began to walk forwards slowly.

"So… just check every room?"

"Yes. And do not wake anyone else up."

"Yes."

Kankuro opened the first door to his right slowly, and saw a closet…


	10. Reapers

Meanwhile, in the living room, Shikamaru finally woke up.

The first thing he noticed was that the room he and Temari were now in was dark. After dinner, and having to deal with their snarky son throughout (although he did finally mellow out at the end of the meal), the two had returned to the living room, where he had _thought _they were going to do a few more rounds of shogi, before getting back to their bedroom for an extended sex session. He could see the evidence that they had at least _attempted _to leave the room, but the shogi board was still out, there were two half- empty bottles of sake next to it, he was lying on his back, and Temari's head was next to his, and her hand was on his chest, inside his kimono.

Eh.

And now it was probably too late for either of them to do anything frisky, but Shikamaru didn't find himself caring too much. His main objective of the anniversary, which was to have a nice and relaxing evening with his wife and not to let any outside influences affect that, had been reached. That's all that really mattered. Besides, there was plenty of time for more sex. Neither of them were particularly old.

But, he still had to get up. They both had to get up. Even if today _was _another day off for him, he needed to be able to be alert and able to offer any help possible in the morning. Even on a "peace period", they were still in a war. So, after sighing, the Nara clean head slowly removed his wife's hands from his body, and then rolled away from her. This motion caused him to hear his wife's snoring slowly stop, and it caused him to see her eyelids open, and her lovely green eyes open up, her pupils focusing on him.

"…Shika…?" She said. Her voice was still groggy, but all of the sleeping eliminated any trace of drunkenness from it. Shikamaru stood up to sit, and then nodded.

"Hm..?"

Temari slowly looked around her, and saw the same scene as Shikamaru. After a few moments, she let herself take a deep breath.

"…So we didn't get to… umm… fornicate?"

Shikamaru smirked slightly at her words.

"You always use big words when you're tired," he noted. He then felt a yawn come on, and he placed a hand in front of his mouth. After he yawned, he answered her question.

"No, we didn't. It's late… I guess we still have time if you still want to."

"Naa… we'll just… do so tomorrow or something."

"Ok." Shikamaru then looked towards the bottles of alcohol near the shogi table next to her, and then chuckled.

"I guess it was the booze."

"Yeah. It's always the booze."

"Whose idea was it to bring it out anyways?"

"Not mine."

Shikamaru extended a hand towards her, and Temari took it. He slowly helped her get up, and then when she was standing, he stood up too. The two then slowly went over to clean up their mess, Shikamaru taking care of the table, and Temari taking the glasses and bottles they were drinking from into the kitchen. When Shikamaru left the room to meet her there, he slid the door closed behind him, not caring about the moderate amount of noise it made. After Temari saw Shikamaru again, the two walked down the hallway to their room, with Shikamaru's arm around Temari's waist.

He opened the door to the room, and then closed it once the two were inside. This closing was a bit loud, but Shikadai slept like a rock. He wouldn't care much. He turned around, and then watched as Temari nearly immediately went into their closet, and began to set out each of their sleeping clothes. Shikamaru, on the other hand, idly brushed his beard, before he shrugged.

"Going to go shave a bit." He stated, before opening the doors to his room, and closing them again. Before he could leave, Temari's voice radiated.

"Alright."

And then he walked down his hallway again, hands in his folds, slowly, allowing himself to be a bit sluggish. He walked down towards the courtyard, and then slid open a particular door that lead into his bathroom. He flicked on the light, and then headed towards the sink.

He turned to his right and opened up a cupboard above his toilet, and took out his shaving kit. His beard usually wasn't so unruly that it needed a shave, but today it was. He was lazy, but he couldn't let himself appear unprofessional, especially with all of the time he spent around the Hokage.

He then turned to look himself in the mirror. There he was. Shikamaru Nara. Member of the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho trio, husband to Temari Nara, advisor to the 7th Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, Head of the Nara clan. The man with an IQ of over 200. Here was his lightly wrinkled face, his dark brown eyes, his jet black hair tied into that pony tail, his thin eyebrows, the two earrings given to him by Asuma Sarutobi, his short black goatee.

Here he stood.

And, as Shikamaru reached forwards to grab the razor for his beard, his eyes left the mirror, preventing him from seeing the attack that came from behind.

But as he looked up in shock, back at the mirror that he had previously glanced in, his normally bored expression turned into one of horror as he saw a bit of his blood splatter onto the mirror in front of him…

And to see a large, silver spike sticking out of the right side of his chest.

And there he was. Shikamaru Nara. Member of the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho trio, husband to Temari of the Hidden Sand village, main commander of Konohagakure's Shinobi forces, 17th head of the Hidden village's Nara clan. Here he was with his blood slowly staining the mirror, the floor and his kimono, his face in a pained and confused state, his lips parted, trying to say something, at least groan, but nothing coming out. The man with an IQ of 200, but not even he could see this coming.

Here he stood, and here he would die.

He panicked, and quickly tried to place his hands into a seal, but quickly felt two long, strong arms constrict his movements. He looked down to see six more arms grip onto him, all brown, all of them wooden. His arms were tied closely to his body, and realising this, he tried to run forwards, but quickly found himself pulled back to the floor. A loud thud. He grit his teeth, the texture of whatever he was lying on, whatever had him constricted, wasn't smooth. And then, he felt himself being pulled out of the bathroom, and back down the hallway.

The process was slow. Torturously slow. The spike within his chest still remained, and as he moved he felt great pain. He kept on trying to yell, or trying to move something at all, but he couldn't do so at all. He was trapped. He was dragged past his room, dragged past his son's room. How lucky those two were, to be so naïve of what was going on inside their own home. At the very least now, whatever happened now… no. He had to get out of this bind.

So he struggled. There was no time for sentimental thinking at all, not anymore. Not while he was quite possibly being dragged to his death. He struggled with his might, pushing up against the arms that bound him. Even through the pain of being stabbed. Even through the pain of being so damn helpless.

It failed. He heard a door open, and then found himself outside in his own courtyard. The puppet released him, and he fell onto the deck. He shivered, but still found himself unable to speak out. And even if he had been able to, what would he have done? Cried for help? He couldn't bear to have Temari watch him die. His eyes shut for a while, but his struggle didn't end. He began to push his mind into overdrive, trying to figure out what was happening. Would he be able to fight? He didn't have any kunai on his person, he was wearing his kimono for god's sake. He still had his jutsu, but he didn't even know where the attacker was coming from.

He heard a door slide shut. He bit his bottom lip, and then rolled over, and pushed himself up onto his knees. Trying to stand up fully proved to be too much for him, and when he fell, he fell back onto his chest. He let out a silent cry when his wound was aggravated again, and then looked up again, his eyes frantically searching for his attacker. Eventually, he found something that was like that, standing up next to a wooden pillar. He could barely make it out, but he was able to recognize something about his attacker.

It was…Crow. The puppet… Crow. And it was being held by several, thin blue but still visible, chakra strings, which led behind the pillar.

Shikamaru's eyes slowly widened as the realization hit him. And as he felt more blood leave his body from the large, gaping wound in his chest, he allowed his eyes to close.

If Kankuro was here… then he really was going to die. But he wouldn't give up this easily.

As his hands shook in pain, he made his signature seal. Well, if he was going to die, at least one other person was going to die as well.

_Sorry Temari, but your brother's gone too far._

"Shadow… possession… jutsu."

He felt his shadow shoot out and watched as it tracked the owner of the puppet, but then slowly felt a few other things begin to crawl up his leg. Before he could get a lock, the feeling had completely enveloped his arms, and he looked down to see what it was…

And he discovered that his arms were now covered with sand. Shikamaru was now visibly trembling.

_Fuck._

And then when he heard another voice, he finally acknowledged that the chances of him ever getting out of this alive were slim to none.

"Cancel the jutsu, Shikamaru Nara, or I will have to break your arms."

Shikamaru breathed out.

_Gaara's here too?!_

And as Shikamaru looked in front of him, as opposed to up and upside down, Shikamaru saw the 5th Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand, standing at another pillar, leaned against it. He was looking directly at him, the downed man, and one of his hands was open. Shikamaru's heart rate increased by a tenfold.

"Either way, your jutsu ends. I am giving you an opportunity to die in less pain. Please, take it."

Shikamaru continued to use his jutsu. Even if Gaara was here, he couldn't stop. He couldn't just die like this.

Gaara closed his hand while Shikamaru looked away from him, and then slowly braced himself for the evitable result. Meanwhile, as he heard a loud, sickening snap, Shikamaru finally found the strength to really call out for help.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGH!"

Shikamaru's shadow stopped its search for Kankuro, and returned itself to its screaming master. This truly was the end for Shikamaru, in life and definitely in memory. Here he was. Konohagakure's Genius strategist, and he was dying on his back porch, about to be killed by some freak assassination mission. And during it, he couldn't even keep his mouth shut as not to scream, his feelings hidden as to not reveal his pain and frustration to his enemy. He couldn't even fight back. It was the perfect murder.

They… they used to be his _friends, _too.

They were his brothers in law, actually. They shouldn't even have been fighting. This entire war didn't even have to have started. This entire murder, all of the death and pain from those ten years of fighting, it could've ended years ago. It could've never have even started. They could've been a normal family. Kankuro and Gaara would be the cool uncles from the village 3 days away. Temari could've been the overbearing but loving mother, Shikamaru could've been the father that Shikadai would've wanted to grow up and become. They could've had… adult nights. They could've just grown up, they could've at least been friends.

Instead, here they were. The head of the Nara clan was lying on his back in pain, waiting for Gaara of the Desert and Kankuro of the Black Sand to finish him off and kill him. That's how it would go down in history.

Shikamaru couldn't move at this point, but continued to groan for a few more moments, before he went silent. By now, the blood that was coming from his wound was causing him to feel weak and tired, and all he wanted to do was sleep. If he simply gave up and slept, then the pain from his broken arms, the pain from his chest, and perhaps the pain of him dying like this would eventually fade away. But, despite all of this, he kept his eyes open.

His vision was hazy, and the lack of light wasn't helping, but he looked forwards, directly at Gaara, and simply stared at the man. Gaara wasn't wearing his Kage robes, instead he had chosen a long, red longcoat, with lots of pockets and zippers. His top had sleeves, and on his back Shikamaru could faintly make out his gourd. The same size as the one from the Chuunin exams. Shikamaru found himself smirking internally from the memory. Enemies then, and enemies now. The man's long, red hair had finally gotten to a length where it needed to be tamed, so Gaara had it collected into a ponytail, one that went down a bit of his neck. He also wore black fingerless gloves, the same tone as the rings that still lined his eyes. Small wrinkles altered his face, but there wasn't any facial hair to speak of.

Shikamaru tried to look around to see Kankuro, but was distracted by Gaara's voice.

"…It'll all be over soon, Shikamaru," he said. Shikamaru noticed that his voice had somehow gotten deeper from the last time he had seen him. He slowly focused his brown eyes on Gaara's pale ones, and the Kazekage of the Sand Village continued.

"We came personally. Admittedly, we were the only ones in the village who could make sure that you died. That… and you owe us a clarification, Nara."

Shikamaru grit his teeth. _Great, more questions. Troublesome…_

He heard Kankuro position himself a ways near his head. Shikamaru took another deep breath. Gaara spoke.

"…Where is Temari, Shikamaru?"

This question again.

Shikamaru's eyes drifted towards the house. Very fast, as to not give any attention. Temari. Temari was inside.

He then turned his eyes to face Gaara's again, and he coughed. Some of it was blood, and it simply came up onto his face. He was dying anyways. He wouldn't waste any time wiping it off.

"…I… don't… know…" Shikamaru lied. He couldn't betray her, not after ten years of marriage, ten years of memories, and seven years of their son. If she wanted to stay hidden from his brothers, then he would follow that wish. Hopefully, he would die before Kankuro or Gaara figured anything out.

Gaara growled, and then walked towards Shikamaru, slowly, stopping when he was standing at the fading man's feet. Kankuro came from behind Shikamaru, and stood so that he could see him as well, at his feet. Shikamaru silently noted that unlike Gaara, he hadn't changed much. His sideburns were gone, replaced by a slight stubble on his chin, his face paint was different, but he was still in his black outfit, and he still looked angry.

_I remember when he used to smile._

"Shikamaru, neither of us are stupid. Tell us what happened to her."

Shikamaru would fight it to the very end.

"F-f-fuck. Why do you two… think I know anything abou-."

He began to feel a familiar sensation. The sand that had broken his arms were slowly leaving them, and heading towards his face, stopping at his throat. Shikamaru shuddered. Gaara was going to choke him. That's how he was going to die. With a giant wound in his chest, two broken arms, and a snapped neck. And in the morning, either Temari or Shikadai would discover him here, sprawled out, with some stupid, dead look on his face.

His thoughts were interrupted by Gaara's voice again.

"Shikamaru… just tell us. Die telling the truth. "

Shikamaru coughed again, and now his face was full of blood. So were his lungs. In fact, Gaara's sand simply breaking his neck didn't seem so scary anymore.

Through weak lips, Shikamaru offered his final words.

"…Truth? You… you want the truth?"

Upon Gaara's nod, Shikamaru gave him a sickly smile.

"If… she was gone… for ten years… what… why do you think… she would want to… even if she was alive… want to see you again?"

That was it then. Kankuro's face slowly began to turn red with anger, but Gaara simply held up his other hand. If Shikamaru wouldn't give any clues on his deathbed, then he wouldn't be persuaded by any more torture.

Shikamaru felt Gaara's sand get tighter, and both Gaara and Kankuro turned away from him. At the very least, they weren't going to _watch _Shikamaru perish. And then, with pained expressions on their faces, Gaara slowly closed one of his palms, and Kankuro closed his eyes. Before Shikamaru closed his eyes in defeat, finally allowing himself to let go, Gaara spoke a few words.

"Then goodbye, Shikamaru Nara. Rest in peace."

Then, as his Kage's fist closed and his sand began to do their deed, Kankuro quietly mused.

"…'Cause we sure won't."

And then time seemed to slow for all of them. Shikamaru slowly felt Gaara's sad begin to close in and end his life, Kankuro and Gaara slowly began to feel the regret and pain from their actions. The old group of friends turned enemies was about to lose a member, and there was a feeling of loss and sadness that sprang throughout all three of them. While the brothers couldn't help but spend the final moments of the dying man's life reminiscing, Shikamaru couldn't help but fill his visions with all of the people he was failing. Temari. Shikadai. Choji. Ino. Mirai. Kurenai. Naruto. His village. The memories of Asuma, Shikaku, Yoshino and others. Everyone who had ever made a different or mattered in his life. How would they progress without him-.

"Ninja Art: Wind Scythe Jutsu!"


	11. Angel

"Ninja Art: Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

Suddenly, the two brothers felt a torrent of wind harass their senses. Within a moment, they found themselves suffering from a few cuts, and each of them held their hands out in front of them. Gaara's defense was doing a decent job, but Kankuro couldn't keep the wind away. Eventually, their stances proved to be no use, and they found themselves being swept away, away from Shikamaru, and into the garden. Kankuro lands against the tree they had been hiding in earlier, while Gaara softens his landing with sand, amongst some flowers. As they both fell, a torrent of dust came up, limiting their vision of Nara.

The gust didn't affect Shikamaru. From his position on the deck, he was too low to feel anything. Although, the sand around his neck and his body were gone now. However, on the inside, his mind was going crazy. This outcome…didn't have a large chance to happen. The chance of it happening was minuscule. And yet it was. And…

This was one of the _bad _outcomes.

He began to hear footsteps near his head, and slowly opened his eyes to see the most beautiful, but at the same time, horrifying sight he could've seen.

Temari Nara was rushing towards him, with her giant fan showing one star.

She immediately kneeled to his side, and began to inspect his wounds. He felt her hands graze over his chest wound, and watched as her face slowly became pained. Just like his own mind. And, after reading the look on Shikamaru's face, she began to feel sick to her stomach.

"I'm sorry. I should've come earlier. I had to get my fan, and then make sure that Shikadai wasn't affected. Then I came. I'm so-."

"Woman," Shikamaru began, his voice still weak. While he spoke, Temari frantically ripped the right sleeve of his Kimono, and then slightly lifted her husband so that she could wrap the fabric around him.

"Shikamaru, _**shut up.**_ I don't need any of your bullshit right now."

The Nara clan head narrowed his eyes, and then gave a quiet yelp when his wife finished dressing his wound, and pulled it tight. At this, Temari allowed herself to smirk at him.

"Still a crybaby, huh?"

Shikamaru nearly snapped.

"Do you think this is a game?!" He growled. "You, you've got to get out of here-."

"I'm not going anywhere. Not without you. I've already called the authorities. They'll be here in a while. Then you can get some real medical attention."

"Woman-."

"You're going to live, Shikamaru." Temari ripped the bottom of her Yukata, and then began to wrap both of Shikamaru's arms together.

"Now who did this to you?"

"You have… get back into the house!"

"Good! Then brace yourself, we're going in together. Then, once you're safe, I'll-."

"Love please-."

"Shika,-."

"_Do you even know who you're fighting against?!" _

Temari paused.

"No."

She began to slug Shikamaru over her shoulder. She turned to the door. It was still open.

"We're going in. Brace yourself."

Shikamaru grit his teeth. This is why it was the worst scenario. Temari was in danger now. They all were in the danger now.

Loyalty and love… that shouldn't cause things to get worse. But of course, in the messed up world they lived in now, it did.

Before Temari could even stand up with her husband, a single voice broke her entire thought process. A voice that she had sworn that she would have never hear ever again. That deep, yet gentle voice, with practiced command, yet practiced persuasion…

"…Temari?"

And with that one name, Shikamaru closed his eyes in pain.

_And now it ends._

Temari looked up towards the voice, into where the dust cloud had finally settled, and when she saw her brother, she instantly understood Shikamaru's previous franticness, completely. Knowing that she couldn't just simply leave now, she slowly placed Shikamaru down, but not in the place he had been before. This spot was next to the door. In case anything happened, at least Shikamaru would be closer to safety now. As his back met the wooden deck again, her husband's face slowly tensed, until his eyes idly went towards Temari, and she gave him a small, wounded smirk. Almost as if she was saying _I'll be fine, Shika. Just stay here. _

That… confidence. Lying confidence. Shikamaru had always found that part of her dangerous.

She turned her head to the voice to see her youngest brother, Gaara of the Desert, standing there Just… standing there. Straight up. His mouth slightly agape at the sight in front of him. Looking mostly the same way she had left him. Except there were a few more wrinkles on his face now, his hair was longer, but other than that, he still looked the same. His outfit was different, but the gourd was the same. And he was now staring up at her, on the higher ground on the deck, his pale eyes almost peering into her soul.

And it hit her again. For the… millionth time. She _left _them. She had _left _her _little_ brothers. She… she _betrayed_ them.

She slowly closed her fan, sticking it into the deck so that there was now a hole where it stood. Her stance was tall, and she focused her eyes into Gaara's. She couldn't appear weak now, not while Shikamaru was still in grave danger, not while Shikadai was still inside. But… she couldn't bring herself to truly face her brothers now. It had been too long. After ten years… what would she even say? Would she apologise for pretending to be dead? Would she apologise for leaving so abruptly? Would she apologise for marrying and sleeping with the man who was their greatest adversary?

And this position. Gaara standing over in their garden, the full moon's light shining on his face. He was just standing there now, alone. And she was standing on the deck, with a family and security. Her mind drifted. Did he even have a family? How close was he to Kankuro now? And what of her other brother? Was he here as well? Did he have loved ones?

Or where the both of them simply frozen in time, waiting to confirm what had happened to her so that they could move on? Despite her eyes meeting Gaara's... she couldn't find any answers in them. She silently wondered if her eyes were revealing anything-.

She heard Shikamaru's breathing stagger, and her eyes briefly left Gaara's to look at her love. Her mate. Her husband. Her closest friend. The one she had left her village for. She looked over his body slowly, making sure tht she had at least covered all of his major wounds. His "bandages" were a dark green colour now, he was still bleeding. But, his wounds were covered. They were coming. She had bought him more time. But, she needed to get him inside.

When she turned her head back towards Gaara, she ended up pausing again. Because he wasn't standing alone now. Next to him, she could see a brown lump of… something, on the ground beside him. But that wasn't the thing that made her shudder, and freeze up with pain and guilt.

No, it was her _other _brother, Kankuro, standing next to him now. His face resembled a starving, angry dog's.

She couldn't even begin to meet _his_ eyes. After 29 years of looking after her brother, she just upped and left him. The feelings she would've gotten would've caused her to burn on the inside.

But, she couldn't protect herself from his _voice. _She watched as his own eyes slowly widened with anger, in the same way that their late father's had, and his voice projected towards her, laden with a verbal poison.

"…Temari… _**what **_are you doing here!?"

Temari bit her bottom lip. His voice rung through her mind just as Gaara's had. She had to say _something _to them. She had to do _something. _

"…I was about to ask the same." She lied. A simple deduction of images, her husband dying on his back porch, the presence of both Gaara and Kankuro, the darkness of the night, the fact that the two villages were still at war. She knew exactly what was going on. They were here to kill her husband.

Meanwhile, she had hoped that at least one of her brothers would've figured out why _she _was here, by now, allowing her to not have to explain the answer to Kankuro's question. She couldn't explain well, and it would eventually cause her to feel moods that she wished to keep away from her now. But what would be worse? Her admitting to her sins, her betrayal and her actions, or them figuring it out themselves?

_If only there had been another way…_

After a few moments, she slowly saw Gaara shake. His head lowered to the ground, and he closed his eyes. This wasn't a good sign. Kankuro's eyes slowly turned to his brother's, and Gaara spoke again. Slowly. Darkly.

"… You left us for him."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement. He had figured it out, that quickly. Temari slowly nodded her head, and gripped her fan. Gaara could almost feel his sister admit to it, and began to shake even more. Kankuro took a deep breathe, and tried out one of his own suspicions.

"…You're married to him."

Temari nodded again. Kankuro's anger seemed to intensify, and his jaw tightened. He spoke again.

"…You've been here… the entire time."

Another slow nod. By now, Temari was fighting back tears. Gaara's hands had went to his face. Kankuro's face continued to darken. He spoke once again.

"…You've been helping him… helping… _**them.**_"

Finally, Temari spoke again.

"I've helped him with some strategies, I told them an ingredient to one of your poisons, that one you always used, so that _he_ could live. That's it. I… why… why would I directly go against my own village? That's not who I am."

"And yet you're standing here, with _**him."**_

__Temari went silent again. Her eyes lowered, and her brows relaxed. Kankuro's eyes were almost murderous now. Gaara's eyes were still closed.

A few moments of silence passed between the siblings, before Temari heard Shikamaru's breathing slowly normalize. She turned her head slightly to check on him, her instincts as his wife beginning to take over, before she heard Kankuro's harsh voice bring her back.

"Turn back around sis."

Before she turned back to look at Kankuro. Her eyes idly turned back to Shikamaru's wounded body, before she heard Kankuro bark at her again.

"Hey! We're over here!"

Temari's sorrowful expression quickly turned into one of anger, to match Kankuro's. She couldn't do this. She was reminded that she was against her own damn brothers. She desperately wanted this to end.

"Just… just get out of here, Kankuro. You too, Gaara. You… you know as well as I that me being here doesn't change shit. You're still going to try and kill him_._"

She took a step closer to her husband, before Gaara's voice returned to the fray. He spoke through his hands, and yet his voice was still loud and clear.

"Just… why? Why did you have to do this?"

Temari took a breath.

"I could ask you the same thing-."

"No, you could _**not**_," Gaara snapped. He had stopped shaking, and he slowly pulled his hands away from his face.

"… I did what was best for my, _our _people, Temari."

Upon the words being spoken, both Kankuro and Temari felt a spark go off in their minds. This topic again. The topic of which, before the war, had always made each of them go to sides. Gaara's eyes viewed into Temari's, and she slowly grit her teeth.

"No, you didn't, Gaara."

"Yes I did." His voice was clear and confident, and wasn't shaking as hers was.

"You didn't."

"He did, sis," Kankuro interrupted. Unlike Gaara's but alike Temari's, his voice was shaking. With the same emotion that Temari's was. Fury.

"We… we all went through all of the possibilities."

"But the one you two chose was the worst one."

There was another sudden silence. This time, it was interrupted by the same one who had started it.

"…They didn't do it, Gaara."

"For fuck's sake, this again," Kankuro snarled. In the moonlight, the look on his face was a horrifying thing to watch.

"You… you still believe that shit? After all of these years?!"

Temari closed her eyes, and nodded slowly. Kankuro flared even more.

"They have no _**proof, sis!**_"

"And yet you were so dead-set on the idea that it was them."

"Their _**fucking **_headbands!"

"Which were easily framed-."

"Our _**fucking **__blood on our own __**fucking **__streets!_"

Temari's expression darkened.

"You think I'm denying that those people died?!"

Kankuro gave out a harsh laugh.

"No, I think that you're being _**dense **_and ignoring the truth."

"You know as well as I that Konohagakure was always a prime target for false fla-."

"And now we were supposed to have believed some fucking false flag theory," Kankuro began to tap one of his feet.

"Some fucking false flag theory, that doesn't even sound right. We were supposed to put the vengeance for the lives of hundreds of people on some fucking _**theory!"**_

__Temari took a deep breath.

"A theory from our _friends, _Kankuro."

At which, Kankuro completely combusted. He was shouting at this point. And his face was so red he looked like a demon.

"Friends don't stab each other in the back."

"They never di-."

"Friends don't stab each other in the fucking back, Temari. How many times do I have to repeat this?!"

"They never did those acts how many times do I have to repeat that?!"

"Their Hokage ordered it! They are Ninja! They stand under their Kage!"

"Fuck off, Kankuro."

Kankuro paused, and then narrowed his eyes at his older sister.

"_**What **_did you say to me?"

"Kankuro, just turn around and get out of here."

"Oh, now you're ordering me around like you're my superior or something! Why, is it because I'm close to the _**truth?!"**_

"No, because you're just telling lies. You don't even believe in what you're saying right now."

"And I'm supposed to believe that you do?"

Temari took a deep, loud breath.

"_**Kankuro, he was Gaara's first friend. If he said it wasn't them, then it wasn't them."**_

__At this, she saw Gaara's eyes widen, his expressionless face gone. Kankuro paused in his tracks, and he went silent for a while. But what was the most interesting was what was going on with Gaara.

The Kazekage slumped his shoulders back, and after a while, his eyes looked suddenly tired, and he found himself lowering his gourd to stand up behind him, before leaning back on his weapon. Kankuro looked towards him, and his eyes filled with worry before the man simply held up a hand, wordlessly dismissing him. Meanwhile, Gaara spent a few more moments just standing there, his thoughts elsewhere from Shikamaru and Temari's garden, and instead in the inner reaches of his mind.

Temari couldn't help herself. She saw her brother in pain, but she had to get her words off her chest. As Gaara seemed to be drifting off into himself, she spoke again. Her voice was soft.

"Remember… Naruto Uzumaki, Gaara? He… he was your best friend. Do you remember? Do you remember the person you used to be? Do you remember the person you were after him? You… you went through so much progress, Gaara. You used… you used to be a monster. But now you're the Kazekage of the Wind. He changed you, brother. Into the man you are now. And you're… you're still a great man, Gaara. But, you've made mistakes. Made some, messes. But that doesn't mean you still can't clean them up."

A few more moments of silence went by. Gaara seemed to have heard Temari, but her words needed to be processed by him. So Temari waited. Kankuro waited as well, leaning up against the tree that he had crashed against. Temari eventually sat herself near her husband, and slowly and silently checked his wounds. Shikamaru had seemed to be out, and his bandages hadn't soaked any harder in his blood. Upon realising this, she allowed herself to smile slightly. At least he would be okay. As long as she could keep him away from her brothers.

Idly, she moved a hand to brush over one of his. She suspected he couldn't feel it, but it didn't matter to her. She still gripped his hand. She needed to be at least able to touch her husband right now.

She was surprised when his eyes slightly opened to look at hers.

She let out a small gasp, before he slowly hushed her, using whatever strength he still had at this point to still speak to her.

"…Are they gone…?"

His voice was uncharacteristically puny and silent. At this, she shook her head slowly.

"Still working on that. Don't worry, everything'll be fine."

His face slowly turned into one of sorrow.

"…Get out of here," he pleaded. His lips could barely move, but he continued.

"Shika…Shikadai needs his mother,"

Temari could tell that her time to speak with her husband was running out. She shook her head slowly, thinking deeply of her child son, and gave her own account.

"He needs his father more."

Shikamaru closed his eyes, finally defeated. She… was stubborn. So, stubborn. So damn independent too.

For once… why couldn't she just _listen_ to him?

As Shikamaru dozed off, Temari slowly moved to give him a kiss on one of his cheeks. He was cold, so cold. Whatever she was doing here, she had to hurry up and finish it quickly, lest he get too cold.

She stood back up to face her brothers to see that Gaara was standing up again, and his gourd was back on his back. Kankuro had been watching her, and his eyes had narrowed, his face slowly returning to its original colour. Gaara looked at her, took a deep breath, and then spoke.

"…Naruto Uzumaki… I…"

His voice drifted off for a few moments. For the first time in the meeting, he was showing some sort of emotion. His face was convoluted, and his mouth was into a strong, regretful frown. He breathed for a while, before trying again.

"…I am a Kage, Temari. I cannot just trust him with such little evidence."

And that was the end of that, it seemed. Temari's face turned into one of disappointment. Not even the memory of Naruto Uzumaki could stop her brother now. Now, she had ideas of what would happen now. She… either way, she had to defend Shikamaru now. She had to defend her son. She had to hold her ground.

She slowly reached her fingers over to her fan, and took it out of the hole she had made. She watched as Kankuro slowly flicked his fingers, and as his puppet stood up. Gaara stood up tall, his decision made.

Now it was time for the part that would be the most difficult. Gaara cleared his throat, and then removed all emotion from his face, before he spoke loud and clear.

"Temari… Shikamaru Nara is going to die today. Please, move out of the way."

Temari opened her fan slightly, so that one of her stars was visible.

"No." She didn't even have to think about it.

Gaara paused for a moment, before speaking again.

"Sister, simply turn away and we will end his misery."

"No. I can't let you kill him. Go home, Gaara. Take Kankuro with you."

Her voice was as firm as his. Gaara slowly narrowed his eyes, and his next words were slow.

"…Temari, _that man_ won't suffer long if you simply just-."

"He's my _husband_, Gaara. And I can't let you do that."

"For fuck's sake, Temari, just get out of the way!" She heard Kankuro shout. Her eyes slowly drifted to him, and she noted that his face was getting red. Again.

"What… just what are you… _**are you out of your mind!?**_ You did all of this… it was for _**him,**_ wasn't it!?"

Temari's eyes widened suddenly, before they narrowed. She grit her teeth.

"Fuck off, Kankuro."

"You always get like that when I'm onto the _**truth, **_Temari!"

"I said fuck off, Kankuro!"

"Tell me, how it feels, Temari!? To sit here all day, just waiting for him to come home-."

"Shut the hell up, Kankuro!"

"- And then when he returns, you fucking let him bang your brains out! You two kiss and all of that shit! You _**fucked **_the guy who's been conspiring against your own__village Temari!"

"And what were you doing, Kankuro!?"

"I can tell you without lying, Temari. I've been fighting and working for my village, Temari. Our village, sis. While you've been hiding out here _**fucking **_Nara!"

"No you haven't! You've been fucking over everything! You've been burning bridges more than a demolition-man!"

"I've been protecting my damn-."

"_**You've been dismantling everything we spent our youth fighting for! Or did you forget that?! Did you forget all of those years!? Did you forget all of that?!"**_

__"They started the war-."

"You were the ones to declare war!"

"In self defense-."

"Why would Naruto ever lie to you!? Why would your friends ever li-."

"Your faith in him's torn this family apart-."

"_**You're the ones who tore it apart!**_"

Both Kankuro and Temari paused at this. By now, their shouting had probably woken someone up, and it had surely riled whatever peace and tranquility there had been in the Nara compound. Neither of them could possibly care now, however. There was so much to get off each of their chests.

Temari slowly leaned on her fan, and continued, breathing deeply from all of her arguing earlier.

_**"**_I didn't… you…do you think I _**liked **_having to leave you two in Sunagakure? Do you think I _**liked **_having to hide from you two!? Do you think I _**liked **_having to stand on this side of the war, having to just sit there and be so helpless and useless?! Do you think this is what I wanted from my life!? Well it _**wasn't.**_ I could've been so much more, things could've been so much better, had you two had just… they were your _**friends**_."

Temari took a deep breath, and found herself suddenly feeling extremely weak. The look on Kankuro's face slowly rescinded, and calmed, while Gaara's stayed emotionless. As per usual. For a while, each of the siblings began to slowly reflect on exactly what was going on, before Kankuro broke the silence.

"…You're acting as if we _**like**_ burning bridges, Temari."

As he slowly saw a bit of fire return to his sister's eyes, he slowly continued.

"…Neither of us exactly _like _war-."

"Then end it."

The brother clenched his teeth.

"You know _why _we can't do that, sis."

Temari was about to answer, before Kankuro beat her to it.

"Don't even say 'Yes you can'. Because you _know _we can't." His voice resumed its' shaking.

Gaara began to lean on one of his legs. Temari noticed this, but kept on paying attention to her middle brother. With a sigh, she rejoined the conversation.

"…Ten years," she mused. Her eyes slowly softened, and she looked from both Kankuro to Gaara once again.

She could hear Kankuro take a deep breath from the deck she was standing on.

"Yeah, that's a decade."

"Everything's so different now…" She drifted off. Kankuro was the one to bring her back to reality.

"You've gotten taller."

"Thanks. So have you two."

"Thanks." Gaara's voice had become foreign to the conversation, him having been silent for most of it. The Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village slowly stood up again, and looked past his sister, towards the house that she had come out of. The Nara Head's residence. After a few moments of staring and considering, his eyes returned to his sister.

"…You have a big house."

Temari inspected the statement before answering it.

"Yes, I, _we _do have a large house," she said. Her voice gave off a slightly proud tone. Gaara idly noticed this, and then slowly went on.

"Tell me. Do you have any children with… _him _… Temari?"

Temari found herself having to consider answering the question. On one hand, she knew that Gaara would never harm a child, and especially if that child was his own flesh and blood. On another hand, she wondered how this information would impact his future actions. Perhaps revealing the existence of her son would persuade him to leave her husband alone. Or perhaps… it would make it worse.

She nodded her head slowly after a few instants. She would take a chance. This was her brother. What was the worst that could possibly happen if he knew?

"One. A boy. He's seven."

"…Mm… a mirror image of his father, or you?"

"Him. He has my eyes though."

"… I… I see."

Gaara slowly drifted off into his new knowledge and stayed quiet. His eyes scanned over the area and his body stayed still. After a while, he settled his eyes on Temari's, and she slowly felt herself begin to shiver within herself. Kankuro could tell that he needed a chance to think, and so decided to distract Temari with some idle conversation as well, also being careful of what he revealed to her.

"…I have children too," he said. His eyes turned to her, and slowly softened. Once again, the red faded from his face.

The news slowly made Temari's eyes widen. She _could _see it happening to him, but at the same time, it was a bit of a stretch for her to see Kankuro become a family man. Perhaps… maybe if he actually had found that special someone, then this wasn't a lie. _So much progress in ten years…_ After a moment or two, she slowly allowed herself to give her brother a light, teasing smile at the news.

"So you finally found someone who could put up with you, huh? And put up with you to the point where she'd have multiple kids with you?"

Kankuro nodded slowly, and after a moment, smiled back at his sister.

"Yeah. Come on, I'm not _that _bad, am I?"

Temari let out a harsh chuckle. "You sort of are."

"Well, I guess that makes my progress even more special, doesn't it?"

Kankuro paused for a moment, and let himself lean against the tree behind him. He remembered another detail of his life, and, after considering for another moment, spoke it aloud.

"You know who my wife is, too."

"Really? I never got a letter-."

"Remember Shiori, sis?"

Temari's eyes slowly widened at the name. And then she remembered.

Kankuro and Gaara weren't the only ones she had left back in Sunagakure.

As the memories began to flood back to her, she found herself once again zoning out of the conversation. Shiori of the Hidden Sand. Two years her junior, Jonin, member of the Puppet Core. Poisons specialist. Veteran of 49 S-Ranked missions. High scores in Ninjutsu.

Of _course_ that was the type of woman Kankuro would get with.

She sighed, and then turned back to look at Kankuro.

"Took you long enough. You've known her for, what, seventeen years?"

"You knew Shikamaru for longer."

Temari nodded. "That's true." Her curiosity began to take over a bit, and Temari found herself asking Kankuro even more questions, even though in reality she should have done differently. Within her mind, she mentally ticked down the minutes before the backup she had called would arrive. Hopefully.

"How long have you two been married?"

"Five years. You?"

"Almost ten."

Kankuro found himself cringing, and his teeth grit slowly. _She got married so soon after she left? _

But she had more questions. Temari ignored the expression on Kankuro's face, and simply shook her head in light disbelief.

"Still… don't' get it. You… married? With kids?"

"Alright, so the kids part wasn't exactly planned…"

"Her idea?"

"Not really. The first was an accident. The other one… I don't know. Sort of just came up."

Temari slowly finished understanding it, and smiled a bit brighter on her brother's behalf.

"Well, congratulations. Although I'm much too late for that."

"Never too late for t-."

"Temari, why don't you come back with us?"

Both Kankuro and Temari's faces turned to look at the newest voice to their conversation. Gaara had re-entered the reunion, his voice had been firm and confident, and the Kazekage was now looking at his sister, from her position on the deck. She looked down at him, and her eyes slowly widened with confusion at his words.

Kankuro leaned off the tree he had begun to lean on, and Gaara continued to speak. His tone soon became warm and inviting, but Temari stayed on edge. She hadn't forgotten what her brothers had tried to do earlier, after all.

"No one else in the Hidden Sand Village knows of your status, Temari. They simply think that you are dead. If you returned… we would make some sort of story of where you had been for all this time. You could simply just reintegrate into our village, our home, and eventually, when the war finally ends, things could go back to the way they were. You could bring your son with you, of course. He has cousins and uncles in our village, and you are his mother. If you'd like, we could re-establish you as ambassador to the Hidden Leaf village, or you could just retire and do something else. We are your brothers, we would make sure that you and your son would be fine. And finally… we could all be together again. Us three siblings, with our families, living in our village together. I mean… we have missed you, sister. And have you not missed us, as well?"

As Gaara's voice faded, Temari's mind began to work once again. She… had missed her brothers. Their family had been torn in two because of the war, and yes. It was important that Shikadai eventually met the rest of his family. She longed to see her brothers again, and to catch up on each of their lives, just as she was sure that they wanted to do with her.

But there was also so much wrong, so very much wrong with Gaara's proposal. So while Temari nodded slowly, when her lips widened again to respond, it was simply a single, but yet very important, question.

"But what about Shikamaru?"

She could see Kankuro's eyes darken again, while Gaara's struggled to stay calm and collected, as she usually saw them. Gaara began to speak, but Kankuro's voice, deepening again, spoke before him.

"He dies, Temari."

And then whatever happiness, reminiscing and relaxation from the area in which the three stood left, as they had left the eye of the storm, and were now going back into its violent edges.

"Then no deal." Temari's voice was firm. Her eyes briefly flashed back to the figure of her husband lying near their backdoor, and then her eyes returned to her brothers. Kankuro's face tensed.

"You didn't…. you didn't even spend any time thinking it through-."

"I… I told you two that I wasn't going to let you kill him. And if this offer ends with him dying, then I'm sorry, but I'm not going through with it. I decline."

As Gaara's face slowly began to turn dark, Kankuro's face reddened. Again.

"Did you hear any of it, Temari? Isn't… isn't that what you want? We… we could be a whole family again! But instead you're just focused on this _one, man-_."

"What part of **'he's my husband' **do the both of you understand?! As his wife, my loyalties lie with him first and foremost. That's what happens when you get married."

"- For… it's a chance to be together again, Temari! Like we all were before the war! Don't you want that? Don't you wan-."

"_**I do! **_But exactly how am I supposed to simply forget that the last ten years happened!? How am I supposed to simply forget how you two declared war and then began to attack your friends!? How-."

"Back onto _**THAT **_bullshit again, are we? How are we supposed to convince you to our side if it's been a decade and you _**still **_believe their nonsense about that event with no true proof otherwise?"

Both of their voices began to raise. Gaara simply stayed out of the argument, but on the inside of himself he began to feel sickness. A sickness to his chest, a sickness to his mind. A sickness to his heart.

Out of everyone here, he wanted things to return to how they used to be before the war had started the most. And there seemed to be no way to convince his sister over to his side. Not while Shikamaru's death was still a term of engagement for him and his brother.

He heard Temari grit her teeth, and found himself looking at her once again. She and Kankuro were still fighting.

"Kankuro, you _**know **_that they didn't do it. Why would _**Naruto **_lie to _**Gaara **_about something as serious as that?!"

"We're Shinobi. Lies and decie-."

"Kankuro, you don't even believe what you're sayin-."

"And how would you know that?" He snapped. His voice suddenly got louder by volumes, and by now his face was flushed red again.

"This is… I can't believe this, Temari! Just… You value _him _over _us?_ You trust _them _over _your own village!? _Where did any of this come from!? And now… you're just… get out of the way!"

"I've been repeating this over and over again, I'm _not _moving! I'm _not _going to let him die!"

Kankuro took a deep breath, and then began to breathe deeply.

"You… just-."

"Kankuro, if you were told to just stand by and watch _your _wife die, would you do so?"

And suddenly, Kankuro went silent. He turned his eyes to Gaara, who was still watching the situation, but now the man's eyes were beginning to be glossed over with some emotion between anger and sorrow. Temari, standing on the deck as she was, slowly turned her head to look at Shikamaru's body. She could still see him breathe, slow and shallow, and his gasping was audible from where she stood. She was running out of time. The people she had called were running out of time as well.

She turned back to Kankuro to see his eyes glossed over in confusion. His anger was still there, but his eyes were looking away from hers directly, instead focusing on some other part of her face, trying to avoid her eyes. He wanted to speak, but found himself unable to. Unfortunately for him, Temari would speak anyways.

"Well?! Answer me! Would you just stand there as the mother of your children, your lover, and your goddamn soul mate was in danger?! Especially if you knew that you could protect her?!"

"My… this is false equivalence and you know it! My wife would never do anything to warrant, she would be careful- For fuck's sake-."

"Just admit it! You'd be doing the same damn thing that I'm doing right now!"

"Fuck it, sis you _know_ what he means to Konoha-."

"And he means even _**more to me**_. And just as much to my son. I can't let you kill him. That's the end of it all. If… you say his death will end the war. Well… what if whatever plan you two have fails!? Then he would have died for nothing. Then you would have killed _my _husband for nothing! Just…"

Temari's voice faded away. Kankuro's eyes diverted from her face, and he found himself looking around his surroundings, trying to buy some time. Gaara's eyes slowly closed, and his mind began to work again. All three of them were at a crossroad now. Temari wouldn't move. Gaara and Kankuro wouldn't leave until Shikamaru was dead. It was becoming more and more predictable that the three would come to blows.

The three sibling genin team. The three children of the 4th Kazekage. They would have to fight each other over opposing ideals, opposing sides of a war, and opposing missions. Opposing sentiments. Opposing beliefs. It was a giant mess. And each of them knew, because of each of their great reserves of power…

One of them could die.

Finally, the sound of Kankuro's cough shook the area. Despite having visited the Hidden Leaf Village frequently over the years, he still had issues with the cold autumn air. He slowly moved his eyes to the moon, to the sky, and noticed how beautiful the stars were, before noticing how the time was passing. They had most likely caused some sort of commotion with their attempt on Shikamaru's life earlier, and their argument had been loud, and had taken up time. They had to end this, before authorities could be notified, before someone else could interfere.

He then moved his eyes to Gaara to see that the 5th Kazekage's pupils were visible once again, and he was looking directly at Temari. He looked tired, and it made sense if he was. Both he and Gaara had been going at it all day. Add that with the emotional trauma that they were all going through now, and it was obvious what the cure was. They needed rest. This needed to end now. They needed to finish killing Shikamaru, rendezvous with the others, and then head home.

It was an indignity that their sister would not be coming back with them.

Kankuro's eyes turned to Temari's. He looked her right in the eyes, and she didn't let up her gaze either. A typical staring contest between the two older siblings. Temari. The closest thing the man ever had to a Mom, in a way. His companion in another way, the first 16 years of their lives had been spent looking after each other when no one else would. His flesh and blood. His big sister.

If only things had been different. Then, perhaps their reunion after so long could've been filled with more smiles. Then perhaps the three of them could still hang out with one another, on the days that Gaara could find some time off of work. They could've been true uncles and aunts to each other's children, they could've expanded their family. They could've ruled and worked in Sunagakure as a family, as comrades. Things could've been so great.

But of course, there was the could have been, and there was the reality. There was what was happening now. There was what would happen. And the look that the two elder siblings gave each other made each of them understand what exactly the happen was.

Finally, Gaara spoke again. His chest pulsated, and his voice was heavy, burdened with feelings that he normally never felt, combined with the stress and suffering that came with being Kazekage, and the pain and suffering that was his life now. Temari's eyes left Kankuro's to look at her youngest brother's the moment she heard his voice re-emerge.

"…Temari… don't make us have to hurt you."

Temari took a deep breath in, and then exhaled, both actions in the same manner as her husband smoked.

"…I'm sorry, Gaara, Kankuro, but you're going to have to-."

"_**Please, Temari.**_"

Her eyes softened, and her face darkened. Gaara _never _sounded like this at all, and she could feel herself break under the pressure, the shame and the disgrace of what she was making her brothers do. Even the reassurance that she was protecting her spouse, protecting her son's father, didn't help her.

And _this _was the reason that she had never said goodbye. This was the reason why she had hoped that she would never have to face them again. This was the reason why she had kept trying to make them leave during the entire encounter, and kept trying to leave herself.

Because for the first time in her life, Temari couldn't handle the _reality _of her situation. And now, finally, it seemed that she couldn't _hide _from the reality either. She was trapped.

They all were.

She fought back tears as she shook her head. Her fingers slowly moved the folds of her giant fan apart, and she slowly went into her usual battle stance. From the moonlight, she could see Gaara's hands relax at his sides, and she could see Kankuro shake his head as well, before he began to start his signature jutsu. She took a deep breath, and finally, she finished saying her piece.

"I _**can't **_let you do this, Gaara. You're going to have to go through me if you want to get to Shikamaru. I'm… sorry that it has to be this way. But this is how it has to be."

She could hear sand slither out of Gaara's gourd, and she watched in horror as his face, at first, struggled to understand what she said, before finally watching his teeth clench, and his eyes narrow. Just like their father's had, so many times in the past.

"... Then we're sorry, Temari."


	12. The Weasel, The Raccoon and The Fawn

_AN: I forgot to mention that I really can't write fight scenes at all, so I'll just start off from after the climax of the battle. I'll come back and fix the fighting scene later, once I get more comfortable with writing about 3 siblings fighting each other. This part might be a little longer than the others. And it might take me a while to finish writing the next part. Either way, let's continue._

"_**HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHK! DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT!"**_

The adrenaline within Temari's mind subsided immediately. Gaara momentarily stopped his sand, and quickly, the two turned their heads turned to see the source of the swearing and the screams. And, then, Temari truly learned the extent of her strength, and the danger that laid within it.

What they saw on, thrashing, shouting and cursing on the floor of the garden, his blood being illuminated by the moonlight and his voice piercing the silent night…

Was their brother, Kankuro. With the leg that once helped prop up the left side of his body missing, and a pool of blood beginning to form around where his leg _should _have been.

Temari's mouth slowly opened with shock, and within seconds, she saw Gaara lose the rest of his composure that he had, and run over to where Kankuro was struggling. Her mind began to gloss over with guilt, and she simply could only stay there, standing with her giant fan in her hand, completely shocked at what she had done.

Her wind had… cut one of her brother's legs off. She had become that strong. And… that was her own _brother_.

She slowly moved to him as well, before she felt a grip on her legs. She fell down forwards, landing on her chest, before she felt herself being lifted up. She quickly looked around her, and saw that it was sand. Gaara's sand. She tried to move, but her fan had been lost on the ground while she was being carried, and soon the sand began to cover the rest of her body, before stopping at her neck.

It didn't take her long to realise exactly what was going on.

Her eyes moved towards Kankuro, to see that he had, for the most part, stopped screaming, and instead was lying in the dirt, his face down. She scanned the battle stage for her other brother, before finding Gaara standing near him. The look on his face made Temari immediately cringe, and while Gaara seemed to be looking at her, she didn't notice any true focus in his eyes. His breathing was heavy, she could hear it from where she was suspended in the air, and then finally, she noticed that, on one of his sides, one of his hands was open.

She finally realised what was happening. And the horror of what was going to happen was now assaulting her psyche.

Her eyes widened, and she let out a shout, before she saw Gaara close his hand into a fist. A few moments passed, before she felt the sand around her contract, and grip her until she began to break. Almost as if she had been set on fire.

**"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!"**

She still couldn't move. She couldn't feel her feet, she could barely feel her arms. Her screams filled the void that Kankuro's had left earlier. She felt herself immediately drop to the ground, face first, and found herself too weak to scream once again. As the rest of her body failed to move, she frantically moved her eyes around, blinking, desperately trying to stay awake. Trying to understand exactly what was happening, and what had happened.

Her eyes finally found her brothers. The moonlight was doing a decent job, but she could now only barely see the outlines of their bodies, and the red of Gaara's hair. She could hear shuffling, she could see the younger brother slug the older one over his shoulder. With the few senses of texture that she still possessed, she could feel some of the sand that had constricted her body slowly move away from her, hear it slowly leave her body. She still couldn't move. Her eyes slowly moved to watch where the sand was going, and she watched as some of it began to move away from her body, and head towards…

Her husband's unconscious form.

She immediately began to panic even more than she already was. She cursed herself, within her mind, and tried to move even more than she was doing already. She couldn't just lay there and let this happen. She kept on blaming herself within her mind. She wasted too much time on her emotions, too much time on her brothers. Her first and only priority should've been to protect him. To protect her husband, and her son's father.

Her eyes glossed over with pain. She tried to cry out again, as she had before, but found herself unable to. Her eyes moved from the sand back towards Gaara, now with Kankuro fully over his shoulder, standing up tall on the outskirts of their garden. She wanted to scream something at him. She would've pleaded. She couldn't just let him do this. She couldn't just let him-

Sudden, she felt a pop go off in her chest.

She opened her mouth again, but this time nothing came out. The pain in the rest of her body began to fade compared to the new one that had begun in her chest. Soon, she quickly found herself unable to even look around, her vision began to fade away. With the remaining view that she had, she focused her eyes on Gaara's hands, trying to see what he would do. He was making the usual hand-signals, beckoning his sand on and on…

Before suddenly, he stopped.

She could barely still hear, but she could still make out hearing the rest of the sand that had attacked her leave her body, presumably returning to his gourd. She felt another pop go off in the same area in her chest, and she found herself crying out softly one last time, before her eyes slowly closed, and she found herself letting go.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Gaara was panicking. And it was one of the rare times to when he would show it on the outside.

His sister had just closed her eyes. She hadn't moved at all, from what he could see in the moonlight, since he had attacked her. The adrenaline from seeing his brother's injury had caused him to briefly lose his mind, his self-control, lashing out, attacking her in a way that he would have never done had been paying attention. He regretted it immediately, cursing himself under his breath as he slowly moved away from the deck of her home, trying to get a better grasp on what had been happening. Trying to remember exactly what had transpired.

His thoughts were interrupted by a moan from his brother, who was still situated over his shoulder, his head lying on Gaara's chest and his legs on his back. Gaara quickly turned his head to look at Kankuro. The hat that he had been wearing on his head nearly fell off at this motion, and the younger brother quickly moved to retrieve it, resettling it on his head. His breathing was panicked and heavy, and he could almost feel the desperation within him. With such an injury, at such a time…

Kankuro could die from this. He needed medical attention. Straightaway.

Gaara's eyes quickly scanned over their makeshift battlefield. Within the span of minutes, the three siblings had succeeded in ruining the Nara Household's backyard. There was blood smeared all around the area from which he had retrieved Kankuro, along with small scraps of black from his outfit, yet the Kazekage of the Sand couldn't make out where the rest of his brother's leg had went. The puppet he had been using was likely lost somewhere within the bushes. On Temari's side, there was a broken pillar, a section of broken deck, and beside the section, Temari's unconscious body lay, on its back. The kimono she had been wearing covered her well, and the fan she had been fighting with simply laid beside her. There were a few scars and bruises on her, from the little of what he could see from his position, but for the most part she looked unharmed. The sand that he had attacked her with was back in his gourd by now, as he looked past her and found himself searing in rage once he saw the body of Shikamaru Nara.

His eyes narrowed. Kankuro's wound would ensure that he didn't have the time to finish the job, but thankfully, the beating that the two brothers had given Shikamaru would be enough, and he would surely die before help came for him. Temari… she had to be able to survive. Even with Gaara's loss of control at the end, she hadn't sustained enough injuries during the battle to prove to be fatal. Gaara hadn't gained any real grievances from the fighting at all, while the brother that he held in his hands would die if he didn't get help for him soon.

The Kazekage of the Sand took a deep breath. Shikamaru would die of his injuries within the hour. Temari would survive as long as someone eventually showed up. Kankuro would be dead, at this rate of blood loss, within fifteen minutes. He himself would be fine. These were the pieces of evidence that he would have to pass over as fact.

That, along with the other things he had learned on this fateful day. Namely, what Temari had truly been doing after all these years-.

He felt his brother struggle in his hold. Gaara patted his back, and then quickly turned to jump away from the household. The time for reflection and understanding would have to be later. The two needed to get to the rendezvous point, and Gaara needed to, at the very least, wrap Kankuro's wounds before the two did so.

Temari had made her choice. Now all three of the siblings would have to deal with it.

Gaara's eyes softened, then he began leap away…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

And from his position within the home, a shaken Shikadai Nara finally found the courage to fully emerge from the gap in his home's back door. And upon fully seeing the scene in front of him, for one of the first times in his life, he didn't have an idea of what he was supposed to do.

There was the option of, for once, being an obedient child, and following the orders his mother had given to him earlier. Earlier that night, he had heard a commotion, but so had his mother. Before he could have opened his room door to investigate, she had already been standing in front of it, looking down at him. His mother had been wearing the Giant Fan that he had seen around the house on her back, her kimono was different, a black one with a red sash. She looked like she was ready for a fight, and before he could inquire what was going on, she simply had looked down at him, and, as per usual, given him instructions.

"Stay inside. I've called for help, and they'll get here soon. For now, just stay in here. Stay safe."

Her voice had been strict. The look on her face had been serious. The young boy had simply looked up into his mother's eyes, trying to process what was going on, and what his mother was even talking about. If Temari Nara had called for outside help, then there was a good chance that this was serious. The curious child slowly messed his brows, before Temari saw the worry on his face, and gave him a rarity from her, a light, comforting smile.

"Listen, everything's going to be alright. Don't worry. Just follow what I said, kay?"

At the time, Shikadai had simply nodded his head in understanding. It was late, and he had been tired anyways. He needed his sleep, he had school in the morning. And his mother wasn't a liar. If she said that it was going to be okay, then it was going to be okay.

Clearly, however, what she had said was a lie. One of her first lies. And as he looked upon the scene in front of him, with his mother and father both sprawled out and unconscious in front of him, he realised that he _couldn't _just run back inside and pretend like he hadn't seen anything. Like he hadn't _heard _anything. As if he hadn't heard his mother scream, or a foreign voice cry out like a madman.

He heard a stifled cough, and his eyes moved from his parents to… a pair of others, who stood at the other edge of his deck.

He froze. He instantly felt smaller than he was. Who was this man? And why was he still standing while his parents were down? But then, the boy's eyes slowly focused on the figure, and the man's appearance slowly came into view. A red-haired man wearing a giant gourd on his back. Carrying a brown haired man in a black outfit over his shoulder.

Shikadai heard a rustle behind him. He turned his head, to see nothing out of the ordinary, before he turned forwards again…

To see that the red-headed man was staring at him.

He hadn't turned around completely, but that didn't change the fact that Shikadai could now see two teal eyes staring at him. The eyes were outlined with black rings, there were a light collection of wrinkles around his mouth, and he was completely clean shaven. The expression on his face was blank, until Shikadai heard yet another sound, and he saw the very same eyes narrow.

At this, the young boy took a step back. A million and one plans and strategies went through his head, all the while he began to sweat. This wasn't good. He couldn't see a headband on the man, but the presence of the gourd on his back gave him a hint of where the ninja came from. The fact that both of his parents had been sprawled out in front of him gave him another hint. The fact that he looked like he was leaving, instead of helping them, helped him finalize who he might have been.

An enemy shinobi.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he moved his eyes to look over his parents once again. A drop of sweat slowly dripped down from his forehead down his neck. They still weren't moving. He idly looked at the rest of his surroundings. He saw the pool of blood, he saw the piece of broken deck. He saw the few grains of sand that hadn't been taken away, and he saw the scraps of black that dotted the very same pool of blood.

Within his mind, he finalized an image. There had been a battle fought here, between his parents and the two shinobi, one of which was now staring at him. And once again, he had no idea what to do about this information.

He took another step back. He was breaking all of the rules now. From his days at school, he at least knew that a ninja wasn't supposed to show weakness towards his or her enemy. Stepping back and sweating, all while having a more or less horrified look upon his features, counted as that.

At least he kept his gaze. He took a deep breath. There was no telling how ruthless the ninja was. Most didn't hurt children, at least from what his parents had told him, but there really was no telling. He looked back towards his parents, this time turning his head slightly so that he could get a better look at them. His father had blood all over his body, half of his kimono was gone, and the missing half had been wrapped around the opposite side of his chest. His mother had a few bruises and cuts on her face, but there wasn't much blood on her body. Both of them were out cold from what he could see.

He had to take risks. The taskforce wasn't here yet, he had to at least make sure that they were okay.

But at the same time, he had to watch the enemy. He turned his head back towards the much older man, and then slowly transformed his face into a scowl. At the very least, he looked a bit braver. But he was still a child, still much shorter and smaller than the pair of men that stood a ways in front of him.

He took one step closer to the bodies of his parents. The man with the gourd on his back took a breath, and Shikadai gulped in response. Both of them looked into one another's eyes, not breaking eye contact for even a second. The dark green eyes of the Nara against the pale, teal eyes of the enemy shinobi.

Shikadai took another step towards his parents. Finally, the silence between the two broke, and he heard the slightly monotone, cold voice from the red haired man in front of him.

"I am not going to hurt you, child."

Shikadai froze again. The man's eyes softened on the boy, and he watched as the young boy's jaw slowly clenched. It was still obvious that he was scared.

"…Did you do this?"

His eyes gestured to his parents. The red haired man simply continued to stare at the boy for a few more moments, before he closed his eyes and nodded slowly.

"…Indeed."

Shikadai gulped again. One of his mysteries had been answered, and he began to regret that it had been. If this man was good enough to outsmart and take out both his father and his mother…

His thought process was stopped by the man speaking again.

"Your mother will be well. Your father will perish. You ought to say your goodbyes while you still have the opportunity-."

"_**Why'd you do this!?"**_

The moment that Shikadai spoke out, he regretted it. He covered his mouth with both of his hands, and he took another step back. His eyes didn't leave the red-haired man's, and he soon began to see those eyes widen slowly, as if he had just been woken up from a stupor. Shikadai tried to make his eyes appear as tough and strong as possible, even as his body slightly shook and his mind went crazy. The very last thing he needed to do right now was invoke the man in front of him to attack him. He wasn't stupid. He knew that he wouldn't survive if that happened.

The red haired man eventually spoke out after about a minute of watching the boy in front of him hide his fear in a see-through basket. He took a heavy breath, and then furrowed his brows.

"Your father…" _No, that wouldn't help._ He took another breath.

"Your mother…" _No, that would do no good either._

The red haired man's eyes finally left the boy's, and simply looked over to the two bodies that laid near him. Shikadai followed his gaze as the red haired man looked away from him, silently taking a breath. The man's eyes seemed to glaze over with a sadness, before he turned himself back towards the boy.

"This had to happen. Your father… is a threat to my village."

He paused. When he spoke again, it sounded as if the man was choking on his words.

"And your mother… tried to stop that. But she failed."

Shikadai cringed, but held his ground this time. His eyes continued to bear into the man's, before the red haired man spoke again. At this time, his voice suggested urgency. The man on his back clearly wasn't going to make it if he didn't leave soon.

"… You should be honoured, child. Your father was considered a threat so great that the Fifth Kazekage himself came to ensure his demise."

Shikadai's eyes widened, and he found himself taking a step back.

So, _this _was the Fifth Kazekage.

The reason why his father stayed out so long some nights. The reason why his mother always waited up on those nights for his father, sitting on the front porch of their home as the sun steadily disappeared from the sky. The reason why he has seen so often sadness and guilt in his parent's eyes so many times, and anger in the eyes of so many adults in his village. The reason why so many students in his academy class were missing family members and friends. The reason why he had never been anywhere other than his village, and likely wouldn't be able to until the war was over.

And now, he was the reason why his parents were lying near each other, dying slowly on the back porch of their own home.

Shikadai really didn't know what to do now. It already had been a bad idea to attack, or anger, the shinobi in front of him, but with the knowledge that he was a _Kage, _that idea turned into a deadly one. But even as he knew that doing something physical or verbal towards the man would end with him dying, he couldn't help but slowly grip his hands into fists, and allow his face to slowly redden with anger. Why was he here? This man had done so much to make things in the village worse for everyone already, but now he had come here, to personally ruin his own life. His father, and his mother. He… he was too young. He didn't have any other type of close family to raise him, to be practical, and no one else in the clan had enough of the skills to properly lead the clan if Shikamaru were to die. The boy wouldn't have anyone else to raise him, sure, some of his honorary uncles and aunts would try to help out, but he would forever and always be missing two parts of himself. The parts that his parents made up.

And while this made him even angrier, this also made the child sad, and fearful on the inside. He _**couldn't**_ lose his parents. Not now.

He sucked in his lips, and shut his eyes. No, he couldn't just sit by and let this happen. He wouldn't lose them this easily. So the boy decided to finally take a risk, rushing over to the body of his father, and instantly kneeling down to try and interact with him.

Shikamaru wouldn't stir, no matter how hard Shikadai began to shake him. The red haired man eventually took his eyes off the boy, and turned himself away. When he did that, Shikadai's frantic shaking intensified. He pushed his father's arms forwards and backwards, trying to make him wake up. For a while, the fact that there was still an enemy in the vicinity didn't matter to the boy. All that mattered was that his father wasn't moving, his breathing extremely shallow, and his eyes still closed. His face peaceful.

Suddenly, the voice of the Kazekage came back to him. Shikadai kept his attention on his father and continued to lightly shake him.

"There is no point in doing that. Your father is dead-."

"No! _**You're**_ dead!"

Shikadai shut his eyes closed at his outburst. _Again. _But at this point, he didn't care. Kazekage or no, this man had secured a painful life for him. The anger that he held inside him flared up to reveal itself on the surface once again, and when the boy continued to speak, his young voice was dripping with both anger and fear.

"You… you won't just get away with this! I... I have… I can't… I won't! _Someone's _going to get you for this! Someone… someone has to…"

Shikadai's voice slowly fizzled out as he watched as the head of man in front of him failed to move. Instead, the area around them continued to give off a deadly silence for a few moments more. Shikadai's face continued its red colour, but his anger soon, once again, faded into sadness, and he began to feel his own eyes well up with tears. By now, he was kneeling on the ground, his body barely being able to keep up with his mind processing what was happening. He couldn't take it. He wouldn't take it. He was too young. He didn't understand. He didn't know what to _do._

He didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to _them_.

More minutes passed, before he heard a cough from in front of him. The figured on the red haired man's shoulder moved, and he could guess that the man was conscious now, if he hadn't been before. He could hear a sigh, and then saw the man in front of him slowly shake his head.

"I know."

And before Shikadai could do anything else, the pair of men took off into the forest behind them, quickly disappearing from his view. He noticed, however, a trail of blood that seemed to follow the two. And once he was completely alone, the tears within his eyes finally began to roll down his cheek, and he began to push his father harder.

"Dad…Dad! You… wake up! You've got to get up!"

His voice was muffled by his tears. He knew that this wasn't going to help him at all. Not his crying, not his pushing. Not his yells. He was a Nara man after all, he wasn't stupid. They were as good as gone. But even as his mind gave him a final verdict, his soul wouldn't let him believe it. With the same frenzied state, he slowly moved his way over to his Mom, doing the same motions. Shaking her. Trying to make her wake up from whatever she was under. Her wounds were minor compared to his father's, there was barely any blood, and yet she seemed to be taking it the same was his father was. He shook her as well, and there wasn't any response. He shook her again, and again, and again. All the while the tears began to pour down his face at an accelerated rate, and he began to whimper in defeat.

And then suddenly, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

He immediately stopped his crying. His tears were suspended on his face, and his head slowly raised. He heard a shuffling behind him, and suddenly froze. _No more sand ninja, please. _He slowly took a deep breath in, and before he could do anything else, heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Shikadai Nara, is that you?"

Shikadai slowly turned his head to look at the man behind him, and his mouth slowly went agape.

"Mister… _Uchiha_?"

The black haired man behind him, Sasuke Uchiha, the father of his classmate Sarada Uchiha, slowly nodded his head, and his eyes slowly moved to look over the younger boy in front of him. After a moment of looking at him, his brows slowly furrowed at the child.

"Are you hurt?" Sasuke's voice revealed a bit of sleep deprivation, but nonetheless came out strong enough. Shikadai continued to look in awe at the man standing above him, before slowly shaking his head. He slowly moved his arms to try and wipe some of the tears out of his eyes, and cleared his throat before pointing to the body of his mother in front of him.

"You… you've got to help my parents."

The man who stood over him nodded, and then slowly knelt down in front of Temari Nara, and moved a hand to check her pulse. As he did this, Shikadai slowly finished wiping his tears away, and finished watching Sasuke take his mother's pulse. He then heard some shuffling behind him, not moving his head, he watched as Sasuke quickly lifted his other hand to motion someone closer to him.

"She's fading! Stabilize her, I need to check the other!"

Sasuke's position was quickly replaced with another ninja, but this one Shikadai couldn't recognize. Sasuke himself moved out of the child's view. Shikadai simply stood there, still in shock.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_ AN: And I really can't write endings either. Sorry, I really wanted to get this chapter out quickly. The next chapter should be up very soon. Also, I actually forgot to write the dinner scene between Shikamaru, Temari and Shikadai. If you'd like to read that, please request it in the comments or reviews. I'm not sure how'd you do that, I haven't really been on this website for a while. Either way, thank you for reading, and please remember to R&R_


	13. Kesshō

_AN: For the record, this isn't going to be the final chapter of this story. Simply, the title goes along with Kankuro's theme, I suppose. It supposedly means "Final" in Japan, but I might be wrong, since I'm not a native Japanese speaker. Either way, this is going to be significantly shorter than the last part, considering only one thing happens in this part. You'll see._

_Also, I hate to do this so early in the story, but I realised that I implied that Kankuro had 2 children in a previous chapter. I'm going to go back and edit it, but I'm going to retcon it to 1. I just feel that it fits him better._

_Also, very sorry for the long wait. I just have a lot of stuff to deal with at school, and I'm not sure how I'm going to schedule the story yet, considering that the parts really do vary in size. However, I'm going to aim for one update at least once a week, or for longer parts, once every 12 days. I'm not sure how this is going to work out, so please bear with me._

_Thank you to all who've been reading my fanfiction so far. _

"Gaara… we've got to stop. Please."

Gaara's feverish eyes snapped towards his brother's position on his shoulder. After a moment, he found himself having to put his eyes back to looking in front of him, so that he wouldn't crash into a wall. He made a few more leaps towards a back alley, and then finally allowed himself to stop his running.

Gaara was breathing heavily at this point, but he couldn't stop now. Ever since they had left the Nara Residence, the two had found themselves pursued by various shinobi. Whatever clearance that they had afforded themselves earlier by taking out the primary guard stations and security stations had clearly run out, and whatever time that they had used with fighting Temari and assassinating Shikamaru Nara had been enough to have every available shinobi in the village out there, looking for them. And they had already run into a lot of them while trying to escape. Gaara had done his best to fight them off, with one side of his body having to be dedicated to carrying his brother to safety, but it was clear that eventually the two would be overwhelmed. The two needed to reach the rendezvous point with the other two who had come with them as soon as possible.

However, if Kankuro needed them to stop, Gaara would do nothing but oblige. After making sure that the alley was clear of civilians and ninja, he slowly placed his brother on the ground, and leaned him up against one of the walls. Instantly noting that his brother's leg wound was still there, he slowly moved to tear off a piece of his own cloak, before Kankuro slowly held up a hand. Gaara's eyes looked into his, and Kankuro shook his head slowly, before giving his brother a weak, but confident grin.

"The Kazekage… shouldn't be tearing his clothes… for his retainers…"

The Puppet master's voice was frail and barely noticeable. Gaara's eyes narrowed at his brother's statement, and he slowly leaned himself in closer, kneeling so that he could hear his brother.

"Don't say that," he scolded softly. "You know you're more than just that to me. You're also my _brother._" Gaara's eyes slowly panned towards Kankuro's missing leg, its wound still slowly bleeding blood, but at least now it was doing so less than it was before. Nevertheless…

"We need to cover it, or else you won't make it. And you need your own clothes to keep warm and comfortable."

With that, Gaara continued his tearing motion, and with a quick motion a bottom piece of his red cloak was taken off. Before Kankuro could protest any more, he had lifted the bleeding stump that was his leg, and slowly wrapped the cloth around it, stopping the blood loss, and successfully creating a makeshift, yet useful, bandage for his brother. After the motion was done, Gaara looked behind himself. The alley they had stopped in wasn't very well lit, aside from a dim streetlight that hung over his brother's head, and the light of the moon. What the light did reveal, however, was that the area was quite dirty, with a lot of garbage tossed throughout it, as well as a deep, dirty wretched stench that hung throughout the air. Gaara took one whiff of it, and then took a deep breath, before moving forwards to try and pick up his brother again.

"We have to keep moving. Come on."

Gaara was surprised as his brother slowly lifted his head, and then looked at the area around them. He took a deep breath, after studying the area around them, and then looked back at his little brother. Gaara paused his movements, and then watched with confused eyes as Kankuro's grin slowly widened.

"Naa… you're the one that needs to keep moving. So ge-."

Before he could finish his talk, the puppet master felt lurched forwards and slowly held up one of his hands to block his harsh coughs. From his position in front of him, Gaara began to lightly pat Kankuro's back. It was better if he got whatever was hurting him out of his system. When his brother was done, Gaara slowly helped him lean back up against the wall.

And even in the dark alley that the two were in, Gaara could still notice that the hand that Kankuro had used to block his coughs had a heavy amount of blood on it.

Gaara nearly retched. After all these years, he was still disgusted by the sight of blood.

The puppet master squinted his eyes, and then flicked his hand, allowing the droplets of his fluid to fall onto the ground in front of him. His brother began to panic at the sight.

"What do you mean? Come on, we're getting out of here together-."

"No… no we're not…"

Kankuro looked up towards Gaara again, this time his eyes growing intense. His grin slowly faded into a scowl, and then he took another breath, before continuing.

"… You need to get out of here… and I'm just going to slow you down…"

Gaara widened his eyes at his brother. He looked over his missing leg, the intensity of his eyes, and the somber expression on his face. And then he shook his head, adamantly.

"You're not going to slow me dow-."

"Back there… with the other ninja… you couldn't… exactly defend yourself… properly. One hand… occupied… I was… too heavy…"

Kankuro paused, and Gaara's mind began to slowly process what he had said. After a few more breaths, heavy and slow, Kankuro finished what he was saying.

"With me on your back… you're also too slow… and… don't you notice…?"

He weakly raised a hand to point in front of him. Gaara looked towards where his brother was pointing, and his eyes slowly narrowed as he saw a blood trail leading to where he had placed his brother. If there was a trail here, there was probably a trail leading to them from at least the Nara Residence. No wonder they had had so many encounters ever since then.

He looked back towards Kankuro, and dreadfully noted in his head that he was beginning to look pale. The purple lines on his face was beginning to stand out even more on the paler background, and Gaara slowly began to understand what Kankuro was trying to say to him.

And this made Gaara panic even more than he already was.

"Are you trying to make me leave you here!?" He asked. His voice was showing a great amount of his emotions, and whatever his voice was not conveying was visible on his face. His eyes were in a frantic state, his brows were furrowed to a great amount, and his lips were placed in a sick frown.

Kankuro looked up at his brother again. Gaara noted that his eyes were slowly beginning to lose focus, and instead of looking directly into his eyes he was looking more at the basic outline of his face. He took a deep breath, and exhaled.

"Yeah."

Gaara's suspicions had been confirmed. But no matter his wishes…

"I won't do that to you," Gaara snapped. It didn't take him more than a moment to respond to Kankuro's request. "No. Now come on, we're going to leave."

Gaara reached forwards for his brother again, but Kankuro held up a hand to block him. He tried to focus his eyes on him once again.

"No…. You have to leave me here…. Now get out of here-."

"I told you I won't do that!" Gaara had slightly raised his voice, but quickly tempered himself. They were still deep in enemy territory, and it would be suicide to raise too much attention to themselves. Especially in the condition that his brother was in. He cleared his throat peacefully, and then narrowed his eyes at his brother, reaching forwards. Once again, his brother weakly had held up a hand to stop him.

"Kankuro-."

"Gaara… you have to **leave. **Now go."

"I'm not leaving you here!"

Once again, Gaara's voice had become too loud for safety. He tempered it again, but before he could speak out again, Kankuro had tempered _**his **_voice, and spoke again, this time more clearly.

"Even if you try to carry me out, I'll die before we reach the rendezvous point. And even if they can't follow the trail of my blood, they can either sniff me out with hounds, or I'll cause you to be so slow that you'll end up finally running into someone that can give you a run for your money. So leave. _**Now. **_"

Gaara's face began to redden, as Kankuro's face continued to lose its colour. He briefly thought back of everything the two had been through for the entirety of their lives. The isolation and fear at the beginning, the reconciliation and brotherhood that followed, the protection, love and respect that they had offered one another, the comfort and understanding…

And this is how it was going to end. No matter what Gaara did, Kankuro's words had truth to them. He was _dying_, and there was only a small chance that Gaara would be able to get help for him before he faded away. No matter what he did, this was how it was going to end. 37 years of brotherhood ending in the middle of a decade long war, deep in enemy territory, with the older brother bleeding out. And the very idea _angered _Gaara as much as it _frightened _him.

But, no matter the inevitable outcome, he had to try. Kankuro had barely lived for half his life, and he wasn't going to allow himself to lose _**another **_of his siblings.

"Kankuro," Gaara pleaded. His voice was beginning to become shaky, but was still strong and clear. "You have _people _to live for."

…_I do._

Kankuro gulped, and then leaned his head against the wall he was against, completely relaxing himself. He thought back to the people he'd be leaving behind with his decision, and his feelings slowly choked his mind-.

"_Don't do that to me again."_

_A simple warning poured from his lips. No, not a warning, but an appeal. His voice had been quivering. His face had hardened as he watched hers instantly soften, her eyes slowly beginning to look away from his. He could tell that his words were working this time. But nevertheless, he wanted confirmation._

"_Did you hear me-."_

"_It… it doesn't matter," she spat suddenly. Her eyes still looked away from his, but at least her breathing was back to normal. She slowly sat herself up in the infirmary bed that she had been holed up in for the past few weeks, and then continued, her voice louder than before._

"_We're Shinobi, remember? Last time I checked, 'dying on the job' was one of the more well-known workplace hazards-."_

"_I know. Just-."_

"_Even if I told you I would stay safe, I'd be lying. And I don't want to lie to you, Kankuro."_

He suddenly lurched forwards again, cradling his head in his hands. Gaara slowly moved to offer his hands in support, but soon enough Kankuro had slowly returned his head to against the wall.

_Fuck…_

He tried his best to keep his mind away from exactly who he was going to be leaving behind, but images kept slipping back into his head. He pushed them back to the outskirts of his mind, but the guilt slowly began to return them to the front and centre of his brain. His eyes squinted, and his face pained-.

"_One week, right?"_

"_Yeah. 3 days there, 3 days back. So I'll get back on either the 6__th__ or 7__th__ day."_

_He then slowly raised a brow, noticing how the toddler's face slowly saddened, and her mouth went into a pout._

"_What's the matter? It's only a week-."_

"_But you just got back! And now you're gone again."_

_ Kankuro felt a pain in his chest, and shut his eyes slowly, before taking a slight breath. _

_ "Listen… it won't be that long. You'll be alright here. I mean, you have your Mom. Don't you like your Mom-?"_

_ "Ya. I love Mummy."_

_ "Then why are you fussin-"_

_ "It's just… you were just gone! It's no fair! We didn't even get any time to play! Why do you always have to be away all of time?!"_

_ The tot in front of him deepened her little pout, and then shut her eyes. The sight would have been adorable, had Kankuro not been her father, nor the man who was causing her to be so upset. There weren't any tears present on her face, but he knew his daughter. It was obvious to him that she was hurting._

_ He had to find a way to convince her to move. He wouldn't push past his own daughter, even if he was keeping Gaara waiting. Or rather, he couldn't, that part of him wasn't present while he was with his family. _

_ The little girl in front of him slowly widened her feet, and then crossed her arms. The puppet master watched as she tried to straighten her back as well, as if to try and appear taller. He smirked at her attempt to look more threatening, before pondering on if his girl was going to try and __**bully **__her father into staying. After a moment or two, he finally was able to think of something that would help._

_ He slowly knelt down so that he was on the girl's level. He was much taller than her, and she was much smaller than him. There he stayed knelt for a moment, noticing how his daughter hadn't opened her eyes to look at him yet, before slowly reaching out his right hand to rest on her shoulder. His palm alone was bigger than the entire joint, and the sensation of her father's hand caused the girl to open her eyes and look at him again. _

_ Her arms stayed crossed. Her face still was in that grumpy, tough position. Her feet still stayed standing apart. Kankuro's face slowly moved into a stern look, as he tried his best to actually appear fatherly towards her for once. He cleared his throat before beginning to speak to her._

_ "Okuni, we both know why I'm away a lot," he started. His voice was soft, yet authoritative. "You know that I'm a very important part of our village. When I'm away, it's not because I want to be away. It's because I __**need **__to be away. There are others out there that depend on me. I have to be away so I can protect them."_

_ "Ya, I know, bu-."_

_ "Let Daddy finish, dear. Listen, just… this mission especially is very important. It could change the course of the war that we're in. And since I'm an important man to the village, I was chosen to go on it. And this mission can't be postponed. So… I've got to go now, ok?"_

_ Okuni's stance slowly relaxed, her hands went to her sides, and she sighed, looking into her father's eyes. Kankuro looked back, his eyes into hers now, and he found himself marvelling at their resemblance. She had the same, intense, sharp, and dark eyes that he did. In a few years, she'd probably be able to pull off the same looks he was able to, provoke the same fear into others that he was able to. Yes, definitely one day._

_ She sighed. Kankuro patted her shoulder, and then gave her a slight smile._

_ "This week will pass by quickly, yeah? You won't even miss me. And if you do… listen. I'm coming back. We'll be able to spend more time together then."_

_ Okuni continued her look into her father's eyes, and after a few more moments, her face slowly went into a neutral position. She kicked at the ground beneath her, and then looked away from him._

_ "Fine. Siz days."_

_ "It's pronounced 'suh-icks', dear."_

_ "Six."_

_ He could tell she was still a bit upset, and so he looked away from her to the roof of his home for a moment to think of something that could possibly cheer her up. After a few moments of thought, he looked back towards his little girl, and smiled at her._

_ "Say… you know that when I get back I'll have a new story to tell…"_

_ Okuni raised one of her eyebrows slightly at this._

_ "Yeah, I kn-."_

_ Before she could say anything else, Kankuro saw her eyes light up in happiness. _

_ "Wait! Does this mean-?"_

_ "Yep. This means you get a new puppet show."_

_ Kankuro slowly allowed his voice to get a bit more expressive. It was still early in the morning, but he couldn't resist himself getting excited for something that all members of his family enjoyed. The little girl in front of him began to grin as her imagination began to run wild. She always loved the shows that her father, and sometimes her mother, played out for her, using miniature puppets and his chakra strings. Kankuro knew this, and then continued to coax her on._

_ "Now, the last time we left off…"_

_ "Our hero was trying to save the princess, right?"_

_ Kankuro nodded._

_ "She was getting tired of waiting, and was going to try and save herself…"_

_ "But the villain wasn't going to let that go on! So… he summoned a giant salamander!"_

_ "She was able to defeat that by herself, but she was gravely injured!" At this, Kankuro slowly placed his other hand on her other shoulder. _

_ "It's a good thing the hero was able to show up in time!"_

_ "But now that the Hero and the Princess are together, how're they going to defeat the villain?!"_

_ Kankuro's grin widened._

_ "Well, you see, we don't know yet. Not me or your Mom. But… by the time I come back, I'm sure I'll know how the next part goes…"_

_ At that, he moved one of his hands to ruffle his daughter's hair. _

_ "One week," he repeated. _

_ Okuni smiled widely, and then nodded in agreement._

_ "One week!"_

_One week._

One week.

By now, Kankuro knew that he was certainly going to die. If his mind couldn't stay in the present, that wasn't a good sign. His eyes opened, and nothing of the situation that he was in had gotten better, not even in the slightest. Gaara still hadn't left him, he still stood there, looking directly into his brother's eyes. They were still alone, thankfully, but it was only a matter of them to when they would finally be found. He was still bleeding lightly through the bandage that Gaara had given him, and one feeling that was certain within him was that he was tired. By now, even the act of simply staying awake was causing him too much effort, let alone speaking.

He was running out of time. And Gaara was still here with him.

The older brother grit his teeth.

"Gaara, you have to **go. Now-**."

"Why do you think I would _**ever**_ do that to you?" Gaara snapped. Kankuro studied his face to see that Gaara's emotions had been slowly getting the better of him ever since he had set him down in the alley, and by this point they were obvious, and all over his face. His brow less eyes' franticness were now evident on his face, his face was almost as aggrieved as his was, as he could see his brother battle the very same emotions that he was battling at the moment as well. Noticing that his voice had gotten a bit loud again, Gaara turned his head to look behind him, to make sure that they were alone. Upon making sure of this, he turned himself back towards his brother and continued.

"I… I would never do that to you! I'm not just going to leave you here! You're my _**brother, **_Kankuro! It's… I'm-."

Gaara didn't know what to say, but Kankuro already knew what he wanted to say. The dying man slowly cleared his throat, and then took a deep breath.

"I… know that. I get it-."

"No! You don't understand! You don't 'get it'! It's… all of the… out of all of the…"

Gaara now had his hands on his head, covering his forehead. If it was anyone other than Kankuro, he wouldn't be spilling his feelings like this, he wouldn't be making his pain obvious to the world. But it was Kankuro. His big brother. He was dying in front of him-

Gaara felt a sensation to his shoulder, and turned his head to see that Kankuro had rested one of his hands there. Kankuro looked towards the joint he was touching, before taking another breath and looking up at Gaara.

He was never good at consoling people, but he would have to try his best. For both their sakes. Gaara _had _to keep moving.

"Bro… just… _please_. You're the Kazekage… and I'm your bodyguard. More importantly… I'm your _**brother **_as well. Meaning that I… especially… I have to protect you. And…-."

"Kankuro, don't-."

"Let me… finish. I know… what you're feeling… it's hard… I know… but you're… you have to live. I told you… I'm already dead… You have to get out of here… live for… both our sakes… live for our village-."

"Dammit Kankuro I can't lose two of my siblings in the same **fucking **day!"

"_**Gaara, I'm trying to save your fucking life! Now… get a move… on! I told you… I'm already… d-**_."

Kankuro then felt himself lurch forwards again, covering his mouth again, coughing again. Like the last time he made such motions, upon leaning back and relaxing again, his hands were dripping red with his own life blood. He cringed at this sight, and he didn't have to look up to know that Gaara was cringing as well. He was running out of time. He had to finish this.

Kankuro took another deep breath. He straightened himself up on the wall, and he shuddered. There was a drift of cold air that had just entered the alley they were in, and as a native of a desert, he hadn't been prepared to feel it. Kankuro mentally chided himself. He hadn't been prepared for anything that had happened this day.

He swallowed some of the blood that remained in his mouth back down into his body, and pleaded with his brother once again.

"…Gaara… please. I don't want to… die knowing that I… burdened you. Please… you have to leave. Just… go."

Gaara's eyes shut again, and he gritted his teeth. He hated it. He hated himself. He hated the entire mission. He hated this day. He hated the mission. The mission that _he __**himself **_put them on. He hated the cold. He hated the falling leaves around them. He hated the Leaf Village. He hated Shikamaru.

_**He hated Naruto.**_

He wanted to curse it all out to the world. All of these factors. All of these things. All of these little variables, they had all been responsible for this. Everything that those factors had done, it had all lead up to this. The estrangement of his sister. The death of his brother.

Once again, Gaara was going to be alone. He was going to be all by himself. He was going to-.

A stifled cough, and Kankuro's voice returned to the air once more.

"You…. You wont be… all alone, Gaara. You'll still have… your friends. Your… you'll still be Kazekage. You'll still have… your village. You'll still have… Matsuri."

_Matsuri. _

Gaara balled his hands into fists slowly. He looked back towards Kankuro to see that he was now almost completely white, the colour and melanin having completely left his face. He… was right. No matter what the two did now, Kankuro was going to die. Only real choice that Gaara had, was how he was going to die. A death on the Kazekage's shoulder, being carried to safety, or a death lying in a dark alley, dying slowly from his wounds?

Would Gaara give Kankuro the death that he wanted, or would he selfishly make the voice for him?

Gaara took a deep breath, and looked at his brother once again. The puppet master's eyes were slowly closing. He didn't have much time left. He didn't have _any _time left.

Gaara looked away from Kankuro the next time he spoke, and his voice dripped with regret.

"…Fine."

A single word was all that Kankuro needed to free himself from his guilt. He slowly allowed a reassuring smile to grace his features again, as the next words out of his mouth came out silently.

"Thank you… Gaara. You're going to be... continue being… a great Kage. Don't you let my… passing… slow you down."

Gaara was still in disbelief of what he was doing when he noticed one of Kankuro's hands reach towards his own head. He looked back at his dying brother to watch as he slowly removed the hat that he wore on his head, also removing his Suna forehead protector at the same time. The action revealed his shaved head, and the short brown hair that seemed to be trying to grow back into the place of his old hair. He watched as his brother looked at his hood for a few moments longer, before smirking and slowly holding the hood out to Gaara. He could see his brother's hands shaking.

"The only… other thing I'm asking. Take this back to… Shiori. It's going to be… hard to explain… for you to… explain. This… you giving her this… it should explain everything…"

Gaara stood there for a moment longer, before slowly taking the hood from his brother's hands, and slowly tucking it into a pocket close to his chest, to make sure it was secure. Gaara's face was solemn, and, observing this, Kankuro gave him a weak chuckle, trying to find a way to reassure him, or at least make the environment that the two were in less tense.

"Gaara… everything's going to be… alright. Just…listen to your big brother… won't you? It's going to be… alright-."

"I'm not going to let your memory fade."

Kankuro's eyes slightly lit up, and he looked up into Gaara's eyes to see the realism in his words. Gaara looked down to him, and continued.

"Your death… it won't be a discarded, forgotten thing. It will not be lost to history. I'm going to make sure that everyone at home knows that you died for your Kage, for your village, for your _brother_. I'm going to make sure that they know, your daughter knows, your wife knows, that you died so that you could end this war, so that you could make life better for them. You're not going to just be disremembered, Kankuro. Everyone… they're going to… they're going to know your name."

The dying man's eyes slightly lit up at this. Both he and Gaara knew that he never strove for power or fame, but that wasn't what Gaara was talking about, not what he was telling his brother. Not in the slightest.

With his strength fading rapidly, Kankuro's voice returned to the fray.

"…You'd… do that for me…? So… everyone's going to hear… about my… performances? My storylines? My… puppet-shows…? Thank… thank you… Gaara. Thank you…"

Gaara finally stood up at that. The gourd on his back already felt heavier. And he already felt more alone.

But so did Kankuro. The blood in his lungs felt as if they had filled them, and he slowly felt his eyes lose their power. It wouldn't be long now before he breathed his last.

Gaara looked around, and seeing that no one was around, he slowly moved himself so that he was in a position to jump onto one of the roofs again, and get out of Konohagakure. From his position there, he took one last look at his dying brother, before shutting his eyes in guilt.

_No… I can't do this-_

"Goodbye, Gaara."

Gaara opened his eyes and looked back to Kankuro. He could see his weak smile from his positon, and his voice was still clear in his ears. And so was the little remark that he said after that…

"You know… I always wanted a little brother. Even when I was a kid… I always thought having one would be… sort of cool. And clearly… you've lived up to that expectation…"

Gaara could almost hear his heart cracking. His voice was vibrating with sadness as he spoke his final words to his brother.

"Thank you, Kankuro. You were the greatest older brother anyone could've asked for. Just…"

Gaara bit his lips. He was choking on his words now.

"…Farewell…Kankuro…"

It was finally time to jump away.

Kankuro watched as Gaara jumped to the rooftop above him, and listened as he could hear his brother's footsteps' clatter across the metal tiling that was on it. He felt a breeze enter the alley, and then took a deep breath. His brother's footsteps eventually faded from his ears, and he allowed his body to relax against the wall he would die against.

_Tem... your doing… huh? I guess you really… did love him. And I… can't even hate you… for your… wrongs._

His eyelids slowly lowered, and his smile faded from his face.

_Shiori…Okuni… I'm sorry…_

And in a theatre, the curtains closed.

_What a lame way to die._


	14. The Seventh Hokage

_AN: __**I apologise for how long it took for this chapter to get out.**__ I was in the middle of exams for school, so I needed to focus on something other than this story. However, from now on I'm going to try and get chapters out at least once every week, and for longer ones (So 3,000+ Words) once every 2 weeks. Sorry. I made this chapter long to make up for it. It's the longest chapter yet.  
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_Just something to let everyone know about this story. I decided to use all of the ships/pairings from Chapter 700, with the exceptions of shipping Gaara with Matsuri and Kankuro with an OC. Therefore, the pairings featured in this fanfiction are…_

_Ino and Sai, Choji and Karui, Shikamaru and Temari (obviously), Naruto and Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke. _

_Sorry if I invoked any flames from that. Also, I read the reviews and I'll try to find a way to fit the other Hidden Villages in here as well, although you might not see them for a few more chapters due to the events of the story. They'll be at least mentioned though. I'm also going to try and get at least a cameo from most of the Konoha 11/12, as well as their sensei. _

_Also, there's a few references to parts in the Land of Waves arc. If you can see them, you have a good eye._

_One Day Later…_

The Jinchuriki of the Hidden Leaf Village slowly opened his mouth to yawn. As the air began to rush from his lips and into the hand that he placed in front of himself, he could also hear a series of footsteps rush from behind him. After he was done, the yellow haired man found himself smirking lightly, standing perfectly still. He could tell the assault was coming, but he wasn't afraid in the slightest. After all, he knew who his attacker was…

"Freeze!"

The man raised his hands above his head, and then placed one hand in his other.

"Oh!" He yelled, in the most dramatic tone he could muster up at so early in the morning. It still was expressive enough for the assailant behind him to accept it, however.

"You got me! Oh! I'm completely under your control!"

He could hear a small giggle from his attacker behind him.

"That's right! Turn around, scum! You're _my _captive now!"

The man slowly chuckled, before turned around to face his assailant. He found himself looking down. The boy in front of him spoke.

"Well, well well! Looks like even the great Hokage can be defeated easily by me!"

The blonde continued on with his façade.

"Oh no! What'll you do with me now that you got me?"

He saw the boy in front of him brighten his face up. He was clearly enjoying this.

"Interrogate you of course! And find out how to do all of the jutsu that you do!"

The Boy then pointed at the older man, his father, in front of him.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwww… Talk! What is the secret to your shadow clone jutsu?!"

"Oh no! I cannot possibly tell that!"

"Yes you can! You're my captive! Since you're my captive, you have to tell me everything!"

The "captured" man in front of the boy slowly began to see a little girl peak her head out from behind a wall. The boy in front of him clearly hadn't noticed her yet. He then slowly focused back on his son.

"I don't _have _to tell you anything! I'll never give up my secrets! Not to you, and not to anyone!"

The little girl slowly caught onto what was happening, and then slowly began to smile innocently, all while beginning to walk out from behind the wall, and slowly towards her older brother. Meanwhile, her brother took slight offence to his father's defiance.

"Fine! ….wait! No! That's not fine! You'll tell me your secrets this instant! Or else… umm… I'll… take your Kage-Hat away! Yeah!"

The older man in front of him widened his eyes in horror. His voice became more dramatic.

"Oh no! Not my Kage-hat! If you take that away, my outfit won't be complete! You can't! That is a fate worse than death!"

The boy in front of him smiled a sick grin. Meanwhile, the girl behind him slowly make her entrance into the confrontation.

"I will take it! I'll take it! Now, tell me the secret to the prestigious, awesome and cool Shadow Clone- Ow!"

The boy's father finally burst out laughing as he watched as his daughter, Himawari, suddenly tug on the boy's hair. The kid was sensitive in that retrospect, and quickly lowered his hands, and began to rub the section that had been pulled. Meanwhile, Himawari quickly ran into her father's legs, and then he dropped his act, also dropping his arms to pick his little girl up, and hold her in the crook of his elbow.

From this position, Himawari threw her hands up into the sky, giving out a cheer.

"I saved Daddy! I saved him from the bad ninja! …I think!"

And at this, Naruto Uzumaki, the 7th Hokage of Konohagakure and Jinchuriki of the Hidden Leaf Village, smiled at his daughter, and cheered along with her.

"Yeah, you _did _save Daddy! And you came just in time too! If you were a bit slower, then who knows what would've happened?"

At this, Himawari smiled back at her Dad. Meanwhile, Bolt was still standing in front of the pair, rubbing his head and frowning. Naruto's eyes slowly moved to look over the pain that his son was going through, and then looked back towards his daughter, an awkward look on his face.

"Eh… although maybe you don't want to be pulling people's hair… Especially if you're just playing…"

Himawari's eyes widened, and then she also looked back towards Bolt, who was now looking up at the pair in front of him, scowling. She blushed, and then rubbed her own hair.

"Oops. Sorry!"

Bolt shrugged, and then stopped rubbing his head.

"Eh, it's alright! I'll just get you back later! In a rematch! This time, we'll get Mom _and _Dad to join! So it'll be equal teams!"

Himawari squirmed in Naruto's arms, clearly being excited, before he let her down. From behind him, he heard another voice enter the scene, as he watched as Himawari walked towards Bolt…

"Dear! Himawari! Bolt! Breakfast is ready!"

And at that, Naruto found himself smiling smugly to himself, before found himself having to move next to a wall as the two of his children rushed past him to reach the kitchen behind him.

It had been a great morning so far, at least from what he himself could see. After leaving work early the day before and being able to spend the rest of his afternoon, evening and night at home with his family, he had woken up next to the love of his life, and had been greeted with a kiss and a close hug. After that, both he and his wife had gotten out of bed together, with her moving to go get breakfast ready, and Naruto dressing himself up for whatever miniscule amount of work that he was expecting to do today. Upon finally heading downstairs, his hair done, chin shaved and Hokage uniform on, he had been successfully tackled by his son Bolt, before engaging him in a bit a play. Which had culminated in Himawari joining along, and finally his wife announcing that breakfast was ready.

He gave himself a sigh of relief. Days and mornings like this had become common in his household ever since the Konoha-Sunagakure War had begun to die down, and hopefully they would continue to be a common occurrence. He could, frankly, use them more often. Especially since the early days of the war had been spent with him out on duty frequently, and eventually, with him stuck in the Hokage Office for days at a time, trying to catch up on an abundance of work.

Eventually, he was finished with his musings. The man's children finally had moved themselves into the kitchen of their estate, and Naruto was moving behind them as well. He walked into the room, and watched as both of his children found themselves at their respective places at the kitchen table, sitting next to each other. The table was already full of foods (boiled eggs, rice, some noodles) , the plates, chopsticks, knives and forks, and both Himawari and Bolt were already digging in themselves. The only thing that was missing was their mother.

Naruto himself slowly moved himself to his position at the head of the table, and then pulled out a napkin to cover his lap. There'd probably be stares and jeers if he showed up to work with a messy coat, of course. Afterwards, he took a look around for the missing woman, before his eyes finally rested upon the figure who was facing the fridge. When she turned around…

Naruto saw Hinata Hyuuga, his wife.

She looked particularly stunning this morning, for some reason that Naruto himself could not figure out. Her hair was perfect as always, her skin was smooth and pale, her eyes were big and beautiful. Her hips nice and full, her curves strong and wide. Whatever small wrinkles that she possessed on her face due to age didn't take away from the radiance that she exhibited. The small scar that was barely visible on her neck, from a botched mission earlier in the war, was barely noticeable to her husband this day, as opposed to the other days where his failure had been clearly visible and open for the rest of the world to see. After a few moments of staring at her, Hinata seemed to finally catch on, and her blank face slowly opened up into a smile, as she closed the fridge behind her and began to walk towards him.

"Good morning again, Naruto."

Her voice sounded heavenly to him. Still retaining the soft, polite form, but now possessing more vigour and strength than when they were younger. Naruto leaned back in his seat, and gave her a toothy grin back.

"Morning again, Hinata."

He, of course, being more mature, and yet still sounding like the goof from twenty years ago.

Hinata moved to sit down, but before she could an idea went into Naruto's mind, as he stood up to take her chair out for her. Hinata slightly blushed at the gesture of kindness, and sat down, allowing Naruto to push her into the table. He stole a kiss from her cheek then, before moving to sit back at his position at the head of the table.

Of course, he had forgotten that the two had an audience.

"Aww! Mommy and Daddy are so cute!" Himawari had exclaimed from the other side of the table. Bolt, on the other hand, was too busy scoffing down the reserves of the boiled eggs that his mother had made earlier, to the point where a quarter of them were gone now. His placemat was messy, with little shells everywhere, and he was being quite loud. While Hinata and Naruto both blushed at Himawari's comment, they both found themselves… unimpressed at Bolt's behaviour.

"Slow down Bolt!" Naruto scolded. The boy stopped his act, and dropped the egg that he was about to eat back onto his plate. Naruto recognized his harsh voice, unusually harsh, and tampered it.

"Your mom and I haven't even started, and almost half the food's gone. And look at Himawari, she's only had one or two."

Bolt looked up at the platter of eggs, then to his plate, then towards his parents, and then towards his sister. He shrunk into his chair.

"Whoops. Sorry Dad." Naruto idly noted that his voice was still young and small. He was barely eight, after all.

"It's alright. Just remember to slow down sometimes." Naruto looked around, before slowly leaning in closer to his son, and speaking more softly.

"You know, some of us can't catch up to you."

Bolt grinned at his father, whilst Naruto did the same. Meanwhile, Hinata began to take some of the food from the platters in front of them, and place them into everyone else's plates, making sure that at the very least they had enough. By the time Naruto leaned back in his seat, there was a good amount of hard boiled eggs on his plate.

He reached forwards to place an egg into his mouth. His eyes moved over to an alarm clock on another table next to him. _7:45am. _In fifteen minutes, the kids would have to get to school. In thirty minutes, he'd have to get to the Hokage's Office and start working. Although at this point, with the amount of work that he had, he might even be able to leave work by noon.

Hinata took an idle look at the clock too, before eating a bit of food herself. Himawari slowly began to eat her fill, and Bolt slowed his eating down. Together, the members of the Uzumaki family ate their breakfast, in their kitchen, as the sun began to rise from the window outside….

Until of course, a knock came to the door.

They could all hear it from the place they were now seated. Hinata slowly moved to stand, but before she could do so, Naruto raised a hand in front of her. She looked towards him with a confused look in her face. She usually answered the door in their household.

"Don't worry, I'll get it." Usually, he wouldn't get house calls. Not at this time in the morning, at the very least. Not unless it was something important.

He stood up, and brushed himself off, before pushing in his chair and moving to the door. He idly looked down to his clothes, and sighed. He wasn't in his pajamas, but he wasn't in his Kage robes either. Just a black tracksuit. He would have to change that later, but he didn't have time to do so before he answered the door.

He walked through the home until he was at his front door. Not even bothering to look through the peephole, he simply opened the door. He already had an idea of who it could've been…

And his prediction turned out to be right. In front of him was a Hidden Leaf Jonin, standing there in his flak jacket and uniform, his hair done up, standing straight, and with a stern look on his face.

Naruto allowed himself to sigh. He had hoped that today was going to be easy, but it clearly wasn't going to be. He slowly changed his face into the one that he wore outside of his home, an overall neutral look, and looked towards the man in front of him, focusing his eyes. Before he could say anything, the man bowed before him.

"Lord Hokage!" As his head rose, Naruto noticed the bags that were under the ninja's eyes. _Must've been up for a while…_

Naruto nodded to acknowledge the bow, and then began.

"What is it?"

The ninja didn't waste time.

"You are needed at the Hokage Offices as soon as possible, Lord Hokage! It's an emergency!"

His voice was loud for the morning. Louder than his own son's, even. Naruto rubbed his ears, and the man in front of him paused.

"Slow down," He said. "Slow down. What's the matter? Emergency? What do you mean? And why can't it wait for a while longer?"

The man in front of him took a deep breath. Despite the bags under his eyes, he didn't seem to be physically tired. Matter of fact, the look in his eyes was beginning to worry him…

"What's going on?" Naruto asked again. This time his eyes were slowly beginning to cloud over in confusion and worry, and so they softened on the man in front of him. The man saw the Hokage's gaze, and quickly remembered what he had wanted to tell him.

"It can't wait, Lord Hokage. The village was attacked… earlier this morning. There are... casualties…"

The man in front of him gulped, and so Naruto's browns furrowed over in confusion, and fear. Fear for what he could possibly say nex-

"The Kazekage was reported being seen inside the village."

Naruto's eyes widened, and the look on his face quickly turned grim…

_Gaara, what are you-_

"And the Stag- I mean… your advisor, Shikamaru Nara, is in intensive care. And an entire unit of the defence force is also under similar care, sir."

Naruto rose a hand, and then narrowed his eyes.

_Shikamaru… But if Gaara was… __**Oh no.**_

It was clear that the cover-up that the two had been doing for the last ten years was finally uncovered. And with his village being attacked as well…

Naruto scowled. He had heard enough.

"I'll be there in a moment," he said quickly. The Jonin outside nodded, and then Naruto closed his door quickly. Without another thought, he rushed back into the house. Rushing upstairs, he quickly threw on his Kage robes, his hat, and then began to rush back downstairs. Before he could run out the door, however-

"Oh, come on Dad! Not again! I thought you were going to walk us to school…"

Naruto stood with his hand on his doorknob, and he found himself sighing, before turning around to see that his son was now standing behind him, arms crossed, his face clearly not being impressed with his father.

And at any other time, the 7th Hokage would have been open to receive his son, and try to talk him down from his temper. To explain to him that he had to be away. To explain to him, once again, the sacrifices that he, and by extension his family, had to make as he continued to have this position.

_**But not right now.**_

Naruto took a deep breathe, and turned himself back towards the door, coldly and quickly. He would have to explain this to Bolt later. He opened the door.

"Hinata! Himawari! Sorry, I'll have to see you later! It's an emergency!"

He made a quick pause, and then looked at his son with a deep regret in his eyes.

"…And I'll see you later too, Bolt. I need to go."

And before Bolt could open his mouth to speak again, his father was out the door, and the barrier had been put up between them.

And like so many times before, he would have to walk to school with Himawari without his father.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Show me to him. Now."

The ninja who was walking beside Naruto quickly bowed, before having to walk faster just to catch up to the Hokage. It was about ten minutes since Naruto had left his home, and he had found himself walking throughout Konoha's main hospital to survey the casualties himself.

Upon arriving, he had been greeted with a scene of chaos. And as he walked the halls searching for the area that was holding his friend, his mind idly found itself going back to remember exactly what he had seen. There had been a great degree of chaos when he had first arrived, medical nin rushing to and from, people lying in stretchers being tugged from one area to the next. The chaos had been so great that he hadn't even been recognized for a few minutes, before finally one of the medical nin was able to slow down, acknowledge him, and then hastily give her Hokage a quick rundown of what had happened, as she escorted him to the main wing that had been holding the newly injured. From what he could understand, the Headquarters had lost contact with the main defence division sometime in the late evening, and after sending a team there to survey what had gone wrong, they had discovered that all _ninety _members of the defence division were unconscious, and in need of immediate medical attention. They searched for a culprit throughout the rest of the day, before Konohagakure's Military Police Force received a call from the Head of the Nara Clan's residence around midnight. Upon arriving at the scene, they had found both Shikamaru and Temari Nara gravely injured, and their son standing over their bodies. Upon questioning the boy, they had the names of the people who likely had something to do with it.

Gaara of the Sand Waterfall. And Kankuro of the Black Sands.

_Looks like the nin from earlier wasn't exaggerating, _he had though, before finally arriving at the wing where the newly wounded were being held. He had seen some of the ninja injured, and had been notified that for the most part, they weren't suffering from any life-threatening injuries. The few who were seemed to be in good shape to recover, and this Naruto was thankful for. Too many ninja had been killed in this war, and for ninety of them to die in a single night would have been too tragic to begin to recover from. However, of course, the two who _were _suffering from potentially deadly injuries were his advisor and his advisor's wife. At least, that was what he had been told.

The ninja beside him finally began to slow down, turning a corner, and soon they both found themselves at a dead end in the hospital. At the end of the hall was a window, beneath the window was a bench and beside that window on either side of the wall were two doors, leading to two separate rooms. The sun was shining in through the window, whatever sun there was this early in the morning, but that wasn't the thing that made Naruto's hardened face soften.

It was the presence of little Shikadai Nara, sitting on the bench in front of the window, leaning forwards, with his head in his hands, and his elbows resting on his knees. The son of his friend and advisor. The unknowing nephew of the Sand Village's Kazekage. One of Bolt's friends. His head didn't raise, even though he had heard people enter his part of the hallway.

While Naruto studied the child in front of him, the medical ninja beside him began to explain.

"After his parents were brought in by the Military Police Force, he was questioned about what happened. Ever since then… he's just been here."

Naruto continued to look over Shikadai. Even as the medical nin beside him spoke, he still hadn't even stirred. _As still as a statue._

"Has he slept?" Naruto asked. There was a heavy amount of concern obvious in his voice. The medical nin shook her head.

"No. We've offered him a place inside one of the rooms, but he's been adamant about sitting here."

"Mm," Naruto muttered. Then, thinking back to what he had been doing before he had come to work this morning, he had another question.

"Has he been given any food?"

"He's been offered some, but he hasn't eaten anything either."

"So he's just been here the entire time?"

"Yes. He's asked once or twice about what was going on with his parents, but other than that he's just been here. Silent."

Naruto nodded, before smirking a little bit. _Stubborn like his mother._

"I see."

The 7th Hokage then looked towards both of the doors, slowly panning from one to the next.

"So, I suppose Shikamaru and Temari are being held in each of these rooms?"

"Yes."

Naruto looked back towards Shikadai as he spoke the next few words.

"And their conditions are still dangerous?"

"Yes sir. We have ninja working on it, including the head of the hospital, but they're both still in critical condition."

At this, Naruto saw Shikadai's body flinch. Clearly, the boy _was _aware that he and the medical ninja beside him were here. But perhaps this was his way of trying to appear brave. Or perhaps the reality that he was living through was beginning to eat him up inside.

It was doing the same to Naruto, but he had decades on the boy. He was, for the most part, handling it better. This child, on the other hand…

He needed a bit of reassurance. It didn't take a genius to know this.

"Could I be alone for a moment?" Naruto's voice was softer now, so that he knew that Shikadai couldn't hear him. The medical ninja beside him nodded immediately, before reaching into her pocket to hand her Hokage some keys.

"These are for the two rooms here," she stated. "The doors are locked from the inside to prevent unnecessary visitors, but in case you need to head inside yourself…"

Naruto nodded. "I understand. I'll try my best to be quick."

The woman quickly walked away from him then, leaving Naruto and Shikadai alone in the hallway. Taking a breath, Naruto looked back towards the boy who was sitting on the bench in front of him, and walked himself over to sit down beside him. Not too close, but not too far away. He took off his hat, and laid it on his lap, and then leaned himself back against the back of the bench. Looking towards Shikadai, he noticed that, once again, his head remained firmly in his hands, and he remained still in his position, not even noticing the Hokage's presence near him.

Naruto took a breath. It wasn't like the two hadn't met before, as Shikadai used to be a common accessory on light work days for Shikamaru, along with being a common reluctant sidekick for whatever mischief Bolt got himself into. However, the situation the two were in would make this tricky. Despite everything, if this calming thing was going to work, he'd have to appear unaffected by the events. Even though on the inside, he was being chewed up by the prevalent fact that this possibly was the day that his good friend would die.

Naruto took a deep breath. He heard a sudden loud shuffle from the room to his right, and turned his head to see it. The sound was shortly accompanied by a crash. He cringed, and his eyes lingered on the room for a few moments more, before he turned his head back to see how his bench-partner was doing. Upon turning back, he saw that Shikadai had finally come out of his shell, and was looking in horror at the same door that Naruto had been looking at. The boy then looked up at his Hokage nervously, green eyes met blue, and then suddenly the boy stood up on both of his feet, and moved to bow in front of him.

"Oh... Sorry! Lord Hokage sir, I didn't notice you! Sorry if I got in your way!"

Naruto looked on, before raising both of his hands up slowly. Shikadai looked at the man in front of him in surprise, his eyes red, before the Hokage leaned himself back up against the bench, relaxing. He then patted the seat a bit of a ways next to him, and gestured to it.

"It's alright. You were distracted, that's all. No harm done."

Shikadai looked back towards the bench that the Hokage was sitting on. Naruto studied his face to see bags under his eyes, as well as his reddened eyes, before Shikadai took a breath, and then sat himself back down in the seat he was in before. Naruto heard the boy sigh, before he noticed him lower his eyes back to the ground, and slouch over.

"It looks like… my Dad's going to be late for work," the boy stated. His voice was obviously choking on something. His face didn't move to look up at his Hokage at all.

Naruto furrowed his brows, and then nodded. From inside one of the rooms, he heard another loud shuffle.

"I know that. I… I don't really care much about that." There was a pause, and then Naruto continued.

"Although at this point, you're going to be late as well. You should be at school."

Shikadai shrunk himself into his position on the bench, and hid his face even more from his Hokage.

"I'll go later. School's…. troublesome."

The older man looked closer at the young Nara's body. The boy was shaking, visibly. Along with the other evidence that he had picked up from earlier, the man supposed that the boy was crying. But of course, like a child his age would do, he was probably trying to hide it from everyone else.

Naruto took a breath in.

"Hm. I guess school _is _quite _troublesome_, isn't it?" He mused. "I sure found it like that when I was your age. All that work… plus getting up early all the time. All those after school assignments. All that studying…"

Naruto looked back towards the boy to see that he was still sitting in his fetal position. He took a breath, and then continued.

"But know what I loved most about schoo-."

"Not right now, Hokage-sir. I'll go, but not right now. I can't do it right now-."

"Because both of your parents are here. And you're worried sick about them."

He heard a yelp from Shikadai, before he noticed how the boy now pushed his head closer to his body. Naruto bit his lip, and then silently cursed himself. As much as he tried to get better, he never was any good at comforting children. He took a slight breath, and then tried again.

"Can't say I've ever been in your position," he began. "I mean, sitting here like you are like this. I don't even have the details of the problem yet."

Then, the Hokage leaned his head back on the bench the two were sitting on, and looking at the pale ceiling above the both of them.

"But… what I can say is that things are going to turn out to be just alright for you. Your parents have the finest Medical Nin in the village working on their wounds, and from what I understand their injuries were recent. It shouldn't be anything serious. And even if it is, your Dad's a tough guy, and your Mom's no softy either."

He then turned to the boy, to still see that his head was in between his form. Nevertheless, Naruto gave off a reassuring smile towards the child.

"They should be fine."

After his talk, Naruto looked up towards the ceiling, and his grin faded. In truth, he didn't know what he was saying to the boy. He didn't know what was going on in either of the two rooms, and he wouldn't know until someone came out of them. And they could come out with either good or bad news. And if it had been true that Gaara and Kankuro had been the ones to injure the both of them…

He clenched his jaw. There was a chance that things weren't _good_.

_Gaara… Why?!_

He spent a few more moments looking up into the ceiling alone. After a while, he heard another harsh crash from inside one of the rooms. He narrowed his eyes. They should be finished soon, he assumed, even knowing that there was a high chance to being wrong. Finally, he felt a tug on his robes, and his eyes slowly turned to see that the hand that had done the tugging had been Shikadai's.

The boy was now looking up at him, his green pouring into his blue, and the rest around his pupils being clearly visible to him. The boy _had _been crying it seemed, as Naruto noted the faint lines of wet tears that left marks on his eyes, his cheeks and his chin. He was still sitting in his fetal position. The boy took a breath.

"... Promise me, Sir-Hokage? Promise me that they're going to be alright?"

Oh no. It was one of these.

Naruto slowly closed his eyes to think about it. In the world they lived in, especially in the profession that he and his friends were involved with, promises were worth nothing. Just because you said you were returning from the war didn't meant that you were going to be able to survive a pivotal fight in the future. Just because you said that you were going to become Hokage didn't mean that you would ever become it. And just because you promised a scared young boy that his parents were going to live didn't' mean in the slightest that they were going to survive.

And if there was one thing that Naruto always did, it was that he always kept his promises. He promised that he'd return a certain man to the village, and he did. He promised that he'd become the Hokage, and he did. He promised that he'd protect his village, and he was doing his best to do so.

But… he couldn't promise this.

He took a deep breath, and then placed a hand on Shikadai's closest shoulder. His face turned stern and serious, and then his blue eyes poured into his green once again.

"I _can_ promise that everything's going to be alright. And I can promise that _you'll _be just fine, Shikadai."

His firm look slowly faded away into an encouraging smile.

"Trust me."

Shikadai looked at him for a few more moments longer, before allowing himself to relax. His legs moved away from his chest, and he leaned back onto the bench. After another moment, he took a breath, and then nodded.

"Okay. I will."

With so few details of what was actually going on, he'd take whatever he could get. And Naruto wasn't lying. His parents were strong. They were probably going to be okay.

At least, that's what he would _believe. _

Suddenly, Shikadai heard a door open next to him. He turned away from Naruto, and then looked to see that a woman had exited the room. She was a bit shorter than the Hokage, her bright pink hair fell to her shoulders, and her teal eyes were bordered with sweat. She was pretty beautiful, even with all of the perspiration on her face, and within moments of exiting the room, the Nara Heir watched as she lifted a cloth to her face, and wiped the excess water off of her face. After dabbing her face for a while, she blinked, and then heard her voice.

"Done!" She announced, then took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, before slowly looking over to the bench that the two males were sitting on. When she saw her Hokage, her eyes widened in shock.

"Naruto? Here already?"

Shikadai watched as the 7th Hokage stood up to greet the medic.

"Well, yeah. I got a house call… I'm more surprised that you're here, Sakura. It's still pretty early…"

Sakura Uchiha, formerly Haruno, shrugged. Usually so full of energy, the pair were both tired. She momentarily forgot about Shikadai's presence, and simply went on.

"I've been here since the two were brought in. It was… damn. It was just… messy…"

Sakura fell silent for a few moments longer. Then, she remembered that Shikadai was in the area, and then looked down to the little boy, giving him a comforting look.

"But I guess that doesn't matter that much right now. What _does _matter is that your Father's going to be alright."

Shikadai's face slowly lit up at the news. His stance completely relaxed on the bench, as he took in the news. After an entire sleepless night of worrying, his father was going to be okay. He was going to be _just fine._

Naruto had been right.

He gripped his fists in victory, but quickly took back the gesture once remembering that others were watching him. He looked past Sakura to the door that she stood in front of, and then he stood up away from the bench.

"Can I go see him?" He asked. His voice was full of barely contained excitement, but then he remembered another detail to why he was here. His head slowly turned to see behind him, looking at the door that was holding his mother.

She was still in there. The boy shivered, and then looked back at Sakura.

"And what about my Mom? Is she going to be okay?"

Sakura took in a breath.

"You can't go see your father just yet. He still needs a while, I'd guess a few days, to recuperate and fully wake up. He lost a lot of blood. And your mother…"

He watched as Sakura slowly began to flex her fingers, and her eyes left his and looked at the door on the other side of him.

"Well, I'm going to go find that out now. I'll know in a while. Her wounds are…. A completely different ball-game than your father's."

She heard Shikadai gulp, and then saw him lower his eyes from hers. Naruto noticed this as well, and quickly came up with a solution.

"While she figures it out, you should get some rest," he mused. "Or head to school… and rest there. Your teachers will know why you were away. I'll let them know myself."

_All I do is sleep at school anyways. _Shikadai took a deep breath, and then nodded in agreement. There really wasn't anything else for him to do here, and if Sakura could work her magic with his father, then his mother should be alright. And, logically, there was nothing that he could do.

He would… just return later on that day. Or the day after. He'd collect his parents, and then they'd continue on.

The boy nodded to his Kage. His eyes then travelled from the clock above them, to Sakura, and then to Naruto. He sucked in his lips.

"..Thank you, Lord Hokage, Mrs. Uchiha."

The boy then slowly began to walk down the hallway away from the two doors. The two watched the kid as he left, the lag in his step form his lack of sleep, before Sakura's eyes turned to Naruto's once again.

She grit her teeth, and narrowed her eyes.

"A personalized attack like this? After so many months of relative peace… it's sickening to even think about. Just what the _hell _was the Kazekage thinking? And _why _was the Nara Clan Head even targeted?"

She then paused, and then continued with more disbelief in her voice.

"And attacking his own _sister? _That's… have things gotten _that _bad?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes as well, and then scowled even thinking about it.

"I… I guess so," he muttered. "I really can't… a personal assassination attempt? And then the fact that he even knew where Shikamaru lived…"

Naruto gripped his fist. His words came out in a drawl, revealing how tired he was of speaking of this topic all the time.

"And all those injured defence ninja… they were some of our strongest. They were good men and women. They didn't deserve to suffer from such a freak attack like that."

Another pause. Naruto sighed heavily, as he had done so many times during the last ten years, and then slowly crossed his arms.

"And now we have to recalculate everything. I have to find new sentries, you'll have to help heal the injured. Then, I'll have to figure out a counter attack of some kind, or at least a proper response to this. And then after that… most likely the war's just going to become full-fledged, all over again… things like this can't just happen without… ugh."

And that would mean that the rotations would start again. That would mean that the war effort would increase again. That would mean-

_ "Oh, come on Dad! Not again! I thought you were going to walk us to school…"_

Naruto cringed at the very thought. He shook his head in disagreement, even though the two of them knew that what he had said was the truth. In the world they lived in, in the positions that they were in now, with the consequences and the rewards so prevalent and transparent, this was their reality. This was their life now.

This was their war.

Naruto closed his eyes, and then began to leave Sakura in the hallway by herself, without another word. He had to contact Shikadai's teachers. At the very least, he would make sure that Shikamaru's son didn't have any problems with being late for school this day. His footpaths echoed throughout the halls.

However, before he could properly leave the area, Sakura found a way to stop him. She had always been good at that.

"And what happens to Gaara?"

Naruto stopped in his steps. When he replied, he didn't turn around.

"…What do you mean by that?"

Sakura blinked.

"…What are you going to do to him? He's… this is the boldest he's been, Naruto. He's never attacked the village like this before, and it's never been as personal as this. What happens now-."

"We beat him."

Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"That's… not what I meant. What do you plan on doing with him now, _after _we've won the war?"

Naruto sighed. Other than that, his voice did not change at all.

"…. I make him see the light. He stays Kazekage, and we become Allies again."

_You __**idiot. **_

Sakura watched the body language of Naruto's back, and once noticing that he man wasn't moving at all, her voice returned to the fray. Even though each word that came out of her mouth seemed to be a cliché for Naruto now.

He and her… he and Shikamaru… he and Sasuke… he and everyone in the village had been having this very same conversation for _years_, now.

"…You're still going to just let him stay in power? After all of this?"

"Yes."

Sakura's eyes darkened.

"… With no repercussions?"

"There will be repercussions, but probably not the ones that you're thinking of."

"After ten years….?"

"Yes."

"…And you still think you can save him-."

"I don't think. I _**know." **_

Naruto's voice was notably stronger than it was before now. Sakura could almost visualize his face. Stern, with narrowed eyes, a deep furrow to his brows…

But hope dripping from his deep, blue eyes.

The very same hope that seemed nearly useless in the world they lived in now.

Sakura took a deep breath. No matter what, she would try to drag Naruto in the real world, and not the world of his fantasies and dreams. Not the world of yesterday.

"… Naruto, just-."

"Sakura. Shut up."

Sakura felt a flare go off in her head, but kept her cool. She noticed the tenseness of Naruto's back through his Kage robes as he finished his words.

"…Sorry for being rude. But…"

There was a pause, and Sakura braced herself. And when Naruto spoke next, she felt something serious strike her mind, her heart, and her soul.

"…If I defeated Pain, I can save Gaara. If I could defeat Madara and save the world, I can save Gaara. If I could change that murderous little boy into the man we once knew, then I can save Gaara…"

"Naruto-."

"_**And if I could bring Sasuke back to you, then I'm going to be able to bring Gaara back from his obscurity. I don't care if this is the second time. I don't care if he pushes a thousand barriers in front of me. I don't care if I have to drag him, as he kicks and screams, back into the man he was ten years ago. I… I'll find a way. I'll prove our village's innocence to him, I'll save Konohagakure, and I'll help Sunagakure. I'll do it. I said at the beginning of this war that I'd do it. This is who I am, and this is my ninja way."**_

Sakura felt something pop in her chest. Thus, she found herself unable to say anything else as her teammate continued to walk away from her, until he was out of the hallway that she was in. And once he was, she gripped both of her fists, and shut her eyes. Not in anger, not in sadness, but in a mental _agony._

Because after all these years, he was still Naruto Uzumaki. No matter how the facts changed, no matter how the war went, and no matter the events, he was still _Naruto. _And it was comforting, for him to still be whom he was after all of these years, when so many had changed.

But at the moment, she didn't know if him being Naruto was going to help their world, or if it was going to hurt it. Even if his intentions were as pure as gold.


	15. Nightmares and Reality

_AN: So I kind of didn't know what to do with this part. I know that it needs to end with a wham, however, so you'll see that. I already know how I want most of the story to go, but at this point it's just a matter of typing it out and sequencing. And once again, thanks to everyone who's been reading this so far._

_A bit of SasuSaku in the last piece. Middle piece has a cameo of one of the Jonin Sensei. Also, did you know that this is around 8k words, and 21 pages? I beat Part 14__th__ record of being the longest part that quickly. XD._

_Oh, and you guys are going to __**hate **__me in the last part. Just a warning._

_I forget to keep stating this, but while I technically own the story,__** I do not own Naruto, nor do I own any of the characters. **__I'm not sure if I have to keep stating this at the beginning of each chapter._

_ Shikadai Nara smiled as his mother wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Lately, he had been trying to keep such displays of excess emotion under his skin, as to prevent others from calling him names, but he supposed that just this once would be ok. His own arms soon made their way around her back as well, and soon his mother had him in a tight grip. He would almost feel her smile._

_ "Nice job today, kiddo."_

_ He let himself grin. _

_ "Thanks Mom."_

_ He then felt her hands ruffle his hair. He squinted before closing, and then slowly moved himself so that he was closer to her, her warmth, and her love. Emotionally, he loved it. Despite how troublesome his mother could be, he still loved her. Practically, it was cold outside anyways. Winter was coming, after all. And even though there was a sun shining through on this autumn's day, any extra heat he could get was best._

_ Moments passed and the two stayed like that…_

_ Until Shikadai felt his Mother let go of him. Abruptly._

_ His eyes opened again, and he saw…_

_ The red haired man with the gourd on his back, his arms crossed. The Fifth Kazekage._

_ Immediately, Shikadai fell back, and scurried away from the man. Not again, he thought. There was a pillar of sand beside him, and the sunny world that he was on quickly turned into a clouded, gray landscape. The smell of blood and sand began to overtake the air, a torrent of sand began to whip up in his surroundings, a sandstorm was formed, and Shikadai nearly threw up on impulse. He began to shiver in fear, before seeing his mother's face emerge from the middle of the sand pillar._

_ Shikadai wrecked his mind for a plan. Temari's face was blank, her eyes unfocused. As if she wasn't there. As if she was dead._

_ Then, another person entered the sudden, makeshift battlefield._

_ "Shikadai, get back!"_

_ He saw his father run into his view from behind him, his hands already in the same sign that he had seen other members of his clan do so many times before. Shikadai scampered to his feet, and then watched as his father shot his shadows out towards the Kazekage. The Sand Ninja didn't move at all, and instead simply flinched one of his hands, to throw a torrent of sand towards his father. Shikamaru dodged this, and shot more shadows towards the Kazekage. The man didn't lift a finger, simply the sand that had been shot towards Shikadai's father rebounded and moved to protect him against Shikamaru's shadows. _

_ Shikamaru kept on running towards the Kazekage, and as a response, the Kazekage began to move his arms again. The sand that had blocked Shikamaru's shadow now constricted him, and threw him away, out of Shikadai's view. _

_ "Dad!" Shikadai screamed. He reached a hand forwards in the direction that his father had been thrown, but quickly felt his head being turned in the other direction. And that was when he saw the Kazekage's face directly in front of him, staring him down._

_ At this point, the boy felt smaller than he had ever felt before. Like a mouse finally caught by a cat. The man's cold, pale eyes bored down into his, and Shikadai immediately knew he wanted to run away. He wanted to move. He wanted to cry out. He wanted his mother. He wanted his father. He wanted to live._

_ As Shikadai felt a torrent of sand surround him, the words of the Kazekage would echo in his mind forever._

_**"This had to happen."**_

_ Shikadai felt a grip on his shoulder, and he finally found the strength to cry out-_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Shikadai's eyes immediately opened, and he found himself jumping back, once again. But, as he felt back he didn't feel the grain or hardness that one might expect from a sandy location_…_

Instead he felt the cold sensation of a classroom floor. Along with a loud _thud, _as his chair landed before him. And when the boy opened his eyes, he wasn't greeted by the hellish landscape of the battlefield.

Instead, as his eyes finally opened, he saw the bright lights of the ceiling, the underwood of his desk, and the light teal eyes of Inojin Yamanaka staring at him.

And after a few moments, he began to hear laughter. Of his peers, of course.

Inojin's eyes immediately snapped away from his, and return to look around the classroom, amongst the roars of merriment and the isolated snickers and giggles.

"That's not funny, guys!" Inojin snapped. "It really isn't!"

Another familiar voice was heard by Shikadai, as he slowly found his bearings on the floor, and rolled over so that he could get up.

"Of course it is! Heh, that's what you get for sleeping in class!"

Shikadai could see Inojin's face mess up even more. His pale skin was starting to get red.

"Guys, he hit his head! What if he hurt himself seriously!?"

"I don't care! One less rival for me!"

"Class, class! Calm down!"

From his position on the floor, Shikadai heard a loud tapping noise from the front of the room. Before he could move up and see what was going on, he saw a hand enter his view. An open hand. Slightly covered with crumbs.

He knew who it was before she even opened her mouth to talk.

"Hey Shikadai. You alright?" The voice whom the hand belonged to asked out, a bit quietly. Shikadai slowly banned his eyes up to see Chocho Akimichi sitting there next to him on her chair. Her eyes were softly muddled over with a slight worry, and when Shikadai didn't immediately respond, she began to frown. She waved her hand.

"Shikadai!"

Shikadai finally snapped out of it, and slowly finished pushing himself up off the ground. He held onto her hand, getting some of the crumbs onto his own hand, and stood up to face her. He placed one of his hands on the back of his head, nursing the new bump that he had.

"Yeah… I'm fine."

"You sure?" She asked again.

"Yeah-."

On the other side of him, he heard a slight rustling sound, and when he finally turned himself to look behind him, he saw that Inojin had picked his chair back up for him. Shikadai rubbed his head.

"Thanks guys," he muttered. He slowly inched himself back into his chair, and then leaned forwards on his desk. He heard both Chocho and Inojin move back into their chairs, before he looked forwards towards the chalkboard in front of him to see that his teacher had been waiting for him to get back up.

Shikadai took a deep breath, and continued to rub the back of his head. He had a good idea of what had happened to him. He fell asleep in class, as per usual. Unusually however, he had a nightmare. Unusually, he ended up leaning back too much and falling back onto his back. Unusually, he had become the laughing stock of most of the class, and now he had a giant headache along with the pain of him falling back.

_Troublesome._

And all the while, the boy was still in a partial daze.

"Shikadai Nara," his Academy teacher addressed. Shikadai's eyes moved from the chalkboard towards the eyes of his teacher. Or rather, the lenses that that he wore around his eyes.

He gulped, and then sighed.

"Yes, Aburame-sensei?"

Shino Aburame's neutral face slowly relaxed itself, and he took a slight breath.

"What happened?"

Shikadai shrugged. There really wasn't a way to say what happened without it sounding weird.

"I was sleeping, then I fell back when I woke up."

There were a few isolated snickers in the audience. Shikadai watched as his teacher once again tapped a piece of chalk against the chalkboard, and after a few moments the class finally calmed down a bit. Except for one person, of course.

"Haaahaaahaaa!" Shikadai's eyes narrowed as they slowly focused on the one boy who was still laughing at him. On the other side of the room, near the front row. Blue eyes, bright yellow hair. Stupid black jumpsuit.

Bolt Uzumaki.

"They should strap you to a chair, eh Shikadai? So you don't fall of one again!"

Shikadai simply rolled his eyes. He didn't have time to play with Bolt this morning. Truthfully, he wanted to have time to think about what his nightmare had even meant-

"Cut it out, Bolt." Shino's voice was displaying a practiced ease, and yet Shikadai could still tell that he was tired of this as well. "A fellow classmate getting hurt like that isn't something to laugh about. Why you ask? Even from something as simple as that, you could be left with an injur-."

"I vote that we all give Shikadai a new nickname! The Great Stag's falling _fawn! _Haaahahahha!"

Shikadai could feel a vein raise in his brow. He _hated _being referred to as that. A _Fawn. _He wasn't a baby anymore. He was slowly becoming more and more independent of his parents, and his clan. And yet everyone still referred to him as an extension of his father, and if not that then a helpless _infant deer. _

Shikadai began to formulate a plan to make Bolt shut up. Thankfully, his friends were already ten steps ahead of him. For once.

"Err, Shut it Blondie!" Inojin spurted. He lifted one of his hands and pointed towards Bolt from their position in the middle right row. He, Shikadai, Chocho and three other classmates were sitting perfectly in the middle of the class in terms of rows, and right in terms of columns. It was a good position.

"Course, you'd be the one talking! I can't wait to see _you _bump your head! Stupid!"

Bolt heard the insults, and then turned around so that he was facing his new adversary.

"Did you just call me Blondie, _Blondie?!_" He sneered.

"Yeah I did!"

"That doesn't even make any sense! Go back to drawing stick figures!"

Shikadai could heard Inojin gasp loudly, and slowly covered his ears with his hands, preparing for the upcoming rant. Before he could do so completely, he saw a small bag of chips enter his view. Looking towards the hand that offered the bag, he could see that it was from Chocho. Their eyes met, and she shrugged.

"Take some. You're gonna need it."

Shikadai shrugged back, and then reached inside to take out a chip, and let the salty flavour evaporate on his tongue. Usually, Shino would scold them on eating in class, but today he seemed to not care.

Meanwhile, Inojin's rant began.

"How _dare _you compare my _**beautiful**_ paintings, sketches and my _art _to _stick figures! _You're just angry that I can actually draw! Oh, and my Justus' better too! At least I can begin to use my clan's techniques! When are you gonna be able to use Shadow Clone Jutsu like your Dad, Bolt?"

Bolt prepared to speak again, but before he could he could Shikadai watched, with refreshments, as Shino threw a piece of chalk onto his desk. He purposely missed Bolt, but that didn't prevent the boy from jumping back a bit in his chair, and turning to look forwards once again. Shikadai's eyes followed Bolt's, and he saw Shino's mouth curl into a scowl.

"_**Enough, Bolt." **_He scolded. "The same goes for you too, Inojin. And everyone else who participated. It's not healthy nor smart to be making fun of your comrades who are in pain."

The bug user waited a few moments. No other child spoke, and he wiped a piece of sweat from his brown in relief, before turning back to Shikadai.

"Now, Shikadai. I repeat, are you in a condition where you can continue on learning today?" Even as Shino said this, he knew that the boy would probably just go back to sleep again.

Shikadai nodded slowly. His head still hurt, but the last thing he needed was more attention. Whatever the dream had meant, whatever his sleep schedule would be like, he'd figure out on his own.

"Yes."

Behind his lenses, Shino narrowed his eyes. The Hokage himself had called in to report that Shikadai was still coming to school and even before he had done so, Shino wasn't slow. He knew what had happened the day before, and he knew how much stress the child must have been under. The moment that the boy had entered the school earlier this day, he had tried to persuade him to make use of the resting room in the office, but Shikadai had refused, for whatever reason he had. He could only imagine what the child was thinking now, with his head hurt and him clearly being unstable enough to even end up with the injury, but ultimately all he could he had done. He also had to make sure not to isolate him from the rest of the class.

"I see. Well then class, we will continue."

Shino turned himself around, and began to draw upon the chalkboard behind him.

"Now class, we're going to do a little review. On angles mostly, but we will also go over probability…"

Shikadai tuned out of the conversation, and he slowly leaned himself back into the back of his chair. Chocho raised her bag of chips, and Shikadai took a few more of them into his mouth. He noticed as Chocho pushed the chip bag over to Inojin, who took a few as well. Then Inojin passed the bag back.

Shikadai allowed his mind to run back to the nightmare he had finished hav-

_**"This had to happen."**_

He nearly fell back to the ground a second time, before he quickly learned forwards just in time to keep his balance. He clearly wasn't well enough to even think about that at the moment. He couldn't think back to the dream. He couldn't think back to earlier this morning, when he had been sitting in the hallway, sitting there, hoping and praying that his mother and father would be alright. He couldn't think back to the day before, when his sleep had been interrupted with the sounds of battle, and had culminated in him waking up and moving to see his mother and father dying, along with the Kazekage and another man standing in proximity to their could-be corpses. He… he couldn't…

The day before. When he had been so dismissive, so disrespectful to his mother and father. What if that had been the last time he would be able to see them? What if they died with the idea that their son didn't like them?

Shikadai slowly moved his hands to his temple, and began to rub it. He wanted to cry, but he couldn't very well do that in a school, surrounded by the rest of his peers, and by his teacher. He couldn't do any of that crying in public either. He wouldn't even allow himself to do it within the confines of his own home. He didn't want to cry. No, he wanted to cry. He didn't know what to do. Their fates, everything was out of his hands. And what if because they were, he lost-

He felt a nudge, and his eyes slowly opened so that he could notice that Inojin had nudged him.

"You should pay attention," he said. Shikadai's eyes opened to reveal his confused look. Inojin noticed this, then shrugged.

"Okay then. Copy off of my notes after the lesson then, kay?"

Shikadai took a deep breath, and nodded. He needed to calm down. His life… it would turn out fine. It needed to turn out fine. It had to turn out fine. As his mind began to race a mile a minute, his mind traced back to the words of his Hokage.

Yes, his mother and father were strong. His father was the Great Stag of Konoha, and his mother was the woman that he had married. She couldn't be that weak because of that. Lady Sakura herself was working on them, and his father's life had already been secured. It was just his mother now. His mother. His mother was strong. From all of the times she had scolded him and yelled at him, she at least had to have some stone. Some grit. Some power. She just had to have it. And, of course…

_"I __**can**__ promise that everything's going to be alright. And I can promise that you'll be just fine, Shikadai."_

Naruto Uzumaki was known for never telling a lie. Renowned for it, actually. And if he said that things were going to be alright, then things were going to be alright. A silly, stupid dream wasn't going to change that.

And as Shikadai's head slowly laid upon the desk, he reminded himself of that. It had just been a nightmare, nothing more.

But at the same time, nothing less.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_One Day Later…_

When Shikamaru Nara began the motion of opening his eyes, he was sure that he had cheated death. Whatever had happened to him earlier clearly hadn't been throughout and potent enough to finally end his life. Whatever struggling and fighting he had done with his body, conserving his chakra, slowing his breathing, and keeping his energy levels low, had allowed him to survive through the night. And most importantly, Temari's efforts at keeping him alive, and her fighting off her brothers, had successfully saved his life.

But as his eyes focused, he immediately noted how there was only the dark, and began to doubt his previous prediction.

He took a deep breath, and continued to look around without moving his head. In all directions except one, there was nothing but the pitch black darkness. In the one direction that there wasn't, he could see a source of bright, white light, with some of the light revealing a path leading into it. With this knowledge, he took a breath.

After a moment or two, he allowed himself to try moving. There was nothing visible wherever he was now, and whatever was in the light would be worth investigating. He slowly wiggled one of his legs, before slowly doing the same to the other. He was surprised when it was revealed that he could, in fact, move his arms, even after the injuries he had sustained. He pushed himself onto his arms and knees, and then slowly stood himself up onto his feet.

The moment he did that, he felt a pain in his chest. He lurched forwards and placed both of his hands onto it, and then looked down. From the light that shined in the darkness, he could barely see that the wound that he had sustained the night before was still there, yet all of the blood from it was gone. He lifted his hands to his face, seeing that they were still battered, yet, just like the wound he had in his chest, they were also devoid of blood. They were not even bandaged.

Shikamaru returned his hands to his sides, and then furrowed his brows.

_What the hell is going on?_

He looked ahead towards the light in front of him. It was just a blank white, with no real altercations at all. There was no image in it. Simply a path leading towards it. He looked down to notice that he was on the path. A lightly dirt trodden road.

Other than the light, the area looked like… nothing. Which made Shikamaru slowly begin to panic. It looked like… nothing. Where was he?

Was he… dead?

There was nothing else in the area. No other sounds. The only thing was the light, and the dirt road that lead towards it.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, and then took a deep breath. He had heard of all of the stories. You walk into the light, and then you go to Heaven. Or Hell, depending on your life's actions. Once you walked into the light, there was no going back to the mortal world. Once Shikamaru went through it, there was a chance that he would never be able to return. Once he walked through, he would never see Konohagakure again.

Once he walked through, he would never see Temari or Shikadai ever again.

The thoughts began to rake his mind. There was nothing here in this void for him, but once he walked through the light, there would be no returning. If there was a chance for him to live again, in the world of the living, maybe there was a way to get there if he stayed in the void for a while longer.

He spat onto the ground below him, or whatever was below him, at the thought of that. He knew better than anyone. There was no true way to resurrecting others, not in their world. The only person who had successfully done so had died a long time ago. If he was here, if he was dead, then he was dead. There was no going back.

He closed his eyes in shame. Temari's efforts had all been useless if this was the case. And Shikadai…

He was too young to lose his father. And he and Temari had been through too much for him to just leave her a widow.

His method of thinking was interrupted by the sound of a voice that he never thought he'd hear again, coming from the direction of the light.

"Shikamaru. Come on, let's go."

Shikamaru's eyes immediately opened, and then his eyes drifted into the light once again. He could remember that voice from anywhere.

"…Asuma-sensei?"

When he didn't receive an answer immediately, he assumed that he had been hallucinating. He nearly returned to his previous point of thinking, before the voice returned once again…

"That'd be me." There was a pause, before the voice continued.

"There's nothing for you there. Walk into the light."

Shikamaru felt a prang on his chest once again. There was no mistaking it. The voice sounded _exactly _like Asuma's. _Exactly _like his sensei. Exactly like the man who had died some twenty two years before this day. It was, to Shikamaru's ears, the same gravely and low bravado. He could almost hear the smoke off of it. It was… his voice…

Shikamaru shook his head lightly. There was no mistaking it now. If Asuma was somewhere here, then he was surely dead.

He looked towards the white light, towards where Asuma's voice had come from, and saw nothing but the bright light. He reminded himself of the possibly consequences of walking into the light. If he walked into the light, then whatever chance of him returning to the world of the living was gone. Any chance of seeing his wife and child again finished. Any chance of him hanging out with Choji and Ino, any chance of him assisting Naruto, any chance of him continuing to protect his village would be over.

His eyes lowered, and he sucked in his lips. He hadn't even been given a chance to properly say goodbye to any of them.

But what Asuma said had been correct. There… was nothing in the void where he stood. If he was here and dead, then there was no chance of him returning to life. He could stand in the void forever, or he could enter the light, and accept his death. Accept his end.

Accept what he had done.

Shikamaru took a deep breath.

_Temari… Shikadai… everyone… I'm sorry._

He slowly began to walk towards the light. As he walked towards it, he moved a hand to cover his eyes as the intensity of the bright colour continued. And finally, as the path leading to the light ended, he took a breath.

He was leaving his life behind now. And there was no going back.

Another quick breath, and he walked into the light.

The white expanse that he had walked into quickly became too much for him to bare, and so he closed his eyes to save his vision. He did so for many moments, until he began to feel the light lessen, and it soon was at a bearable level once again. And as he opened his eyes, his jaw slightly dropped, and his brows went high above his eyes. He wasn't standing in the darkness, nor the light anymore. Instead, it was the inside of a place he had been many times in the past…

Yakiniku Q. Team Asuma's favorite restaurant.

He immediately looked around, slowly turning his head back and forth. No one was there, at least not from what he could see from his position at the front of the restaurant, and yet the restaurant was exceedingly clean. Random grills throughout the building were on, one at each table, despite it's lack of patrons, and the inside was very warm, despite the lack of staff. Looking outside of the windows of the building he could see a large, strong summer's sun shining in from the sky, signaling mid-day. The building smelt of charcoal, but Shikamaru could also smell a trace of burning meat, coming from a location somewhere in front of him.

Still confused, he slowly began to walk forwards towards the smell of meat. He noted that he was still wearing the same clothes from when he was still in the world of the living, and his sandals made a light clogging noise as he walked. He slowly passed tables, until he arrived at the back of the restaurant. He prepared to turn the corner, as the smell got more and more intense, before he was interrupted.

"Hey. Shikamaru."

Shikamaru froze in his steps. The voice had come from directly behind him, and even before he turned around to greet him, he knew who it was. The same voice from earlier.

Asuma Sarutobi.

When Shikamaru looked at his old master for the first time in twenty two years, he didn't exactly know what to do. He had found him sitting at one of the tables he had passed, leaning up straight against the back of the bench, and placing a few pieces of the raw beef in front of him onto the grill. When Shikamaru fully turned around, he quickly noted that Asuma looked the same way he did those twenty two years ago, with no altercations, with the exception that his killing wound was nowhere to be found. Same beard. Same hair. Same tan, same face. Years of growth didn't change that fact that his sensei was still probably taller than him. He was still wearing his clothes from the day he had died.

Shikamaru spent a few more moments standing there, simply looking at his sensei with utter shock in his eyes. What he had heard earlier couldn't have been a hallucination. Here was his sensei. Sitting in front of him. His eyes looking over Shikamaru, and his face in a neutral and knowing look.

Moments passed before there was another sound. Asuma's voice entered the fray once again.

"Hey. You got taller."

Shikamaru's face dazed over with utter confusion once again, before it slowly returned to a neutral look.

"…Asuma-Sensei?" He repeated from earlier. Asuma nodded, and then gestured to the seat in front of him.

"Yeah. Might as well sit down. We… have a lot to talk about. And so little time to do so."

_Not a lot of time to talk? _Shikamaru pondered. He slowly slipped himself into the seat in front of his former master, and then leaned back. He continued to look around himself, trying to figure out exactly what was happening to him, before he heard Asuma place a few more pieces of meat onto the grill in between them. He turned back towards Asuma, and then spent a few moments simply looking his former master over. After a few moments, he placed his hands onto the table in front of him, and then took a deep breath, a slight tingle coming to his nose.

"… I'm dead, aren't I?"

Shikamaru's eyes lowered at this. A moment passed, before Asuma's voice answered his question.

"…Maybe. If you're here, anything's possible."

Shikamaru's eyes continued to look down onto the floor, as his face slowly turned into one of sorrow. Asuma narrowed his eyes at this.

"Don't get sad, Shikamaru. You didn't do anything wrong."

He moved to flip over the pieces of meat that grilled on the grill in front of him, while Shikamaru took a breath.

"Sure, sure." Asuma looked back up at him, and before Shikamaru could think back to the ones he had abandoned, he interrupted him.

"… Let's not think of that right now. We don't know if you're really coming with me, do we? For now…"

Asuma took a look back at his meat, then back at Shikamaru, and his look turned genuine.

"…First things first. Thanks for looking after Kurenai and Mirai for all these years."

Shikamaru leaned back up, and then nodded.

"It was your last wish. I was always going to follow it."

"Yeah, but the way you followed it…"

Asuma's eyes slowly saddened, and he missed Shikamaru's eyes for a few moments.

"...It was almost like Mirai actually had a father."

Shikamaru nodded slowly.

"… Don't beat yourself up over it. You left her a great memory, a good example to live by and she has a great mother. She sometimes feels upset about… your death… but really she just wants to make you proud."

_I hope my memory's enough, if I'm really gone. _Shikamaru then noticed Asuma's eyes slowly gain colour and emotion again, and then he spoke again.

"… I still should've been there. But… here's no use in getting upset over it. She's her own woman now, and Kurenai's still healthy and alive. And I can't help from where I am, it's beyond my power."

Shikamaru realised this.

"Wait a minute… where are we?"

Asuma leaned back again.

"I guess you could call it a sort of purgatory. Souls come here, idle for a while, and eventually they're judged and they either go to Bliss or they go to Perdition."

"If that's true, then why are you here? You died a long time ago."

"I guess you could say I bended the rules. I've already been assigned, but once I saw you die, I wanted to be the one to guide you to… well… wherever you end up going. Just in case we ended up in different places."

Shikamaru nodded, and took in the information, before reviewing it and noticing…

"Wait… how did you know that that happened to me?"

"Uh… we can say I've been watching, Shikamaru."

"How much did you see-"

"It's complicated to say, really. Some things, about some people that I've grown close to, I'm just able to view…"

"… I get it."

"Yeah, if you end up coming with me, it's going to mess with your mind. Eventually you'll get used to it."

Shikamaru looked up at him, and then narrowed his eyes.

"Right… I… I see…"

He looked back into his lap, and then his mind began to whirl. In truth, he had so many things that he wanted to ask Asuma, but now that he was with him none of those things would arrive with him. _But, of course_, he supposed sadly. _If I end up going to the same place he went, I'll eventually remember._

Asuma's meat finally finished cooking, and he then evenly distributed the food amongst him and his student. Once the grill was clear, he heard Shikamaru speak up, as he placed a piece into his mouth.

"…Was there anything else you wanted to let me know?"

When Shikamaru began to eat himself, Asuma nodded, and continued.

"The funny thing is, I had a lot of ideas of what I wanted to say… but now that you're actually here… Well."

He paused, then continued.

"Let's continue with more of the good. The Ino-Shika-Cho formation continues to be a success, the Will of Fire is still strong within you, Konohagakure is still a wonderful place to live, and the Land of Fire is holding out quite well against the Land of Wind, and obviously you have a lot to do with that."

Shikamaru finished eating a piece of meat, and then took a breath, and narrowed his eyes.

"The bad?"

Asuma sighed, and then made sure that his eyes met Shikamaru's.

"Exactly _how _were you expecting to end the War in a way that would appease your woman _while _still protecting Konoha, Shikamaru?"

A verbal punch to the face.

Shikamaru sat back, and then took a few minutes to compose himself. It was a question that he had struggled with for the entirety of the war, and even he never really had an answer to it. It had been the source of many arguments, him versus his wife, him versus his peers, him versus his Hokage, him versus himself. Whatever ideas he and his wife had about the subject were always under the scrutiny of others, and sometimes they even conflicted with each other's.

He was dead. He didn't want to think of what he had failed to do.

He took a breath.

"I would win the war, then both villages would begin to rebuild."

Asuma leaned forwards.

"How?"

"…Mutual co-operation-."

"Do you really think that people would get over a 10 year war that quickly, and just rebuild?"

Shikamaru paused, and then frowned.

"No, but eventually things would work out. People don't stay mad forever-."

"Bah. You'd be surprised how far someone's anger and thirst for revenge could compel them to do something…"

There was a pause.

"…You would know-."

"I _**would **_know."

There was another pause, and then Shikamaru continued.

"…As long as neither Gaara, Kankuro or Temari die, it should work. Those two wouldn't hurt Temari-."

"And yet they tried to kill you."

'They didn't know-."

"And even if they did, they wouldn't just sit there and let you live. They might love their sister, but their village comes first. That's the way it is for all Shinobi."

Shikamaru's brows widened slightly, and Asuma shook his head lightly.

"Listen, it's good to be optimistic. And I can see why you'd think like this, in the world you live in now. But you and I both know that what you two want is-."

Suddenly, the light from the window began to intensify. The two of them looked up to the sun at the same time, to see that it was the cause of the slowly intensifying light. The shadows on the replica of Konoha outside began to increase, and Shikamaru also began to notice that the colours of what he saw began to turn into simple black and white. Asuma's face slowly turned into one of sorrow, while Shikamaru's' turned into one of confusion.

The process of the world's ruination soon began to intensify. Moments after the brightening sun, Shikamaru began to notice that structures in his surrounding were also going away, as his vision continued to lose colour. The table in between him and Asuma began to dematerialize, the food and the grill in front follow suit, and the benches that they both sat at began to fade away. He turned back to Asuma.

"What's happening?" Shikamaru asked. His voice slightly cracked.

Asuma let out a small grin.

"… I guess you aren't dead after all…"

Shikamaru felt overcome with both sorrow and joy. He would be able to return to his home, he would be able to see his wife and his son, he'd be able to continue on, and he would be able to continue his plan. Konohagakure would still have it's Great Stag.

He wanted to cheer outwardly, but when he looked back to Asuma, he noticed as his eyes suddenly lit up in a horrified look. By now, all of the colour that Shikamaru had been able to see before was completely gone, replaced by the monochrome. Asuma's eyebrows contracted, and his face slowly turned from horrified to simply guilty, as he looked at his former student. Both student and teacher shared a gaze, before Shikamaru spoke out.

"… Asuma-sensei? What is it...?"

Asuma's face continued its remorseful appearance, and he neither moved nor did he speak. By now, the restaurant around them had completely faded away. They were both sitting on nothing, surrounded by a white void, and now there was nothing but the both of them. Shikamaru's' view, however, continued to turn black and white, and his vision now blurred. Asuma's face was now barely viewable.

"Asuma!" He cried out. There was something wrong with the reaction Asuma had given out. What did he see? What happened? Did he forget something? Was he begin attacked? Was he-

Asuma finally reacted, and he reached out to place his hands on both of Shikamaru's shoulders. Shikamaru could feel it at first, but quickly that too began to fade. Asuma took a loud, audible breath, and then narrowed his eyes at Shikamaru, and his face took a stern turn.

"…I… I saw something. Listen ….You're going to go through Hell. Hell on Earth. You're going to experience something that neither I, nor your father, nor your mother, nor anyone of your blood has ever experienced. It's going to be nasty. It's going to have you screaming. It's going to have you angry. It's going to test you. I can't tell you what _it _is. It's physically impossible for what I am…"

Shikamaru could barely feel Asuma's grip, yet he could tell that it had increased.

"All I can say is that, you got to make sure that you survive it. Survive _all _of it. And you got to make sure that it doesn't _change _you, either."

Asuma's body began to fade away, and Shikamaru's vision finally blurred to a point where he could barely make out his face.

"Because if you can survive what it is, then you're going to be the strongest man I'll ever know. And Konohagakure will need a guy like that."

Asuma let out a grin, and the last thing Shikamaru saw before he entered the black void once again was his teeth.

"Hell… if your predictions are right, Sunagakure might need a man like you too."

Asuma faded from Shikamaru's view, and he felt himself falling fast.

"Goodbye Shikamaru. Tell everyone I said hi. Especially Kurenai and Mirai. Like always, I'm counting on _you_."

_Crash._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Meanwhile…_

"_That's _your plan, Naruto?!"

The 7th Hokage nodded, and then leaned forwards onto his desk.

"Yeah. What were you expecting? We can't just chase after him like that-."

"_Bullshit._" Sasuke Uchiha rose from his seat in front of the Hokage's desk, and began to pace back and forth.

"We can't just let him stumble in, injure a whole unit, try to assassinate a Clan Leader and his wife, and then let him walk back out!"

"Well what're suggesting then? That we send a squad of people out there, endangering their lives, _just _so we can get early payback?"

Sasuke paused, and then he stopped his pacing momentarily.

"… Won't need a squad..."

Naruto took a deep breath. From Sasuke's vague words, he could still figure out what he meant.

"… By the time you and I head out of the village, Gaara and Kankuro would be back in Sunagakure," he said softly. Idly, he turned on the computer that sat on his desk, and began to check his mail. He continued.

"Besides, it's too risky. We… we just need to wait for a different opportunity. And strengthen the village in the meantime."

Sasuke almost spoke out again, but Naruto stopped him before he could start.

"Yeah yeah, Sasuke. I know what you're about to say. We… almost had peace. Didn't we?"

Sasuke sighed heavily, and then moved to go back and sit in his chair. Once he was seated, he leaned back, and then took a deep breath. His eyes slightly turned to the sun setting in the sky, and he sighed once again.

"Yes… we almost did…" he muttered. "But it looks like we're back on the warpath again, aren't we? Which is why measures such as these-."

"Sasuke-."

"Are suitable. This is what you _**do **_in a war. Either we chase after him, or we give to him what he gave to us! We attack their village, we injure many, and then Gaara never does something like this ever again!"

Sasuke was now leaning forwards in his chair, his elbows on his knees, his face slowly turning red, and his temper flaring. Naruto, behind his desk and on his computer looking up reports, stayed calm. A reversal of what each of them were.

A symptom of the war.

The head of the Uchiha Family suddenly widened his eyes in shock, and then lowered them, his face going solemn.

"…Pfft, look at me," he jeered, leaning back in his chair once again. "What a loser am I, right? I sound like a vengeful idiot…"

_Wouldn't be the first time, _Naruto thought. He took a deep breath, and then let out a whistle of air.

"I guess we all have flaws, right? Heh… 'What you do in a war'. Wish Tsunade or Kakashi had left a book about that here for me. For the first time in my life, I probably would've read it. You know, the book."

Sasuke smirked. Naruto saw his smirk, and gave out a friendly grin back. Sasuke nodded.

"And even if you read that book, you'd probably miss out on about 90% of the content, and only get a few lessons out of it. So you assume that's all there was to it for about a year, until I read it…"

"Then you'd miss out on 60% of the content, because you'd assume the rest is filler, or useless. Then we'd be thinking we knew everything out of the book for the rest of the year…"

"Until my wi- Sakura found the book. She'd read the rest of it, call the both of us _idiots_ for not reading the entire book through, and then maybe then we'd finally have enough knowledge to win the war-."

"Not really."

"Mm?"

"Not really. Because then we'd get our asses kicked, and Shikamaru would let us know that the book is outdated by… damn, if it was written by Tsunade it'd be around 50 years old or something, wouldn't it? Then he'd figure out a battle strategy or two that'd save the village. All the while complaining about how _troublesome _the whole ordeal was."

Sasuke let out a chuckle. He and Naruto always found it easy to relax around each other, even if there was peril all around them. Naruto laughed too, and then continued.

"Really, my plan of just simply defending the village is just a hold over for until Shikamaru wakes his ass up. Once he does, we might actually have a good counter-attack plan. Or at least a good idea of what the hell we're going to do. I'm not good at this strategizing stuff, at least not as good as hi-."

Naruto was interrupted by the sound of the door to the office opening and closing. Both the Hokage and the Head of Konohagakure's Police Force turned towards the doorway to see Sakura Uchiha standing in front of it. Blood on her doctor's uniform. Some traces of blood on her gloves. Standing in a near daze. A horrified and guilty look on her face.

Sasuke immediately stood up, automatically sensing that something was wrong, while Naruto continued to watch her from his position behind the desk, before his eyes slowly widened in shock, confusion and fear.

"Sakura?" Sasuke's voice sounded weak and pathetic, but Naruto had noted over the years it usually did when he was around her. Sakura didn't seem to register his voice, her head continued to look down, and she continued to stand there.

In response, Sasuke's eyes widened, and he slowly began to walk over to her. Within his mind he panicked, for the appearance and action of his wife were similar to a injured and weakened woman. On the outside, he tried to keep himself silent, as he slowly moved over to her, looking over her, and seeing no wounds. He repeated himself.

"Sakura?"

There was still no response. Sasuke quickly wrapped his arms around his wife, and squeezed, her head on his shoulder, chest to chest, heart to heart. Her heart was still beating, he could feel it, but for whatever reason she was stiff, and as cold as snow.

And there was blood on her. There was blood on his _wife._

He knew she was a medical ninja, but he still worried. His mind still choked itself for answers.

"…Sakura!"

Finally, Sakura seemed to react. She jolted out of whatever she was in, and responded to Sasuke's protective hold. Her body began to warm, and she blinked multiple times, struggling to remember exactly what she had come here for…

But once she remembered, she began to feel a sickness to her stomach, and her face tensed.

"Sasuke…" her voice trailed off. The Uchiha Clan head allowed himself to smile, and he placed a kiss onto her broad forehead.

"Sakura... are you alright?"

"Yes… yes I'll… I'll be fine…"

Before Sasuke could hold her tighter again, she finished breaking whatever peace, laughter and happiness there had been in the room before with a single sentence.

** "But Temari won't be."**

Upon the mention of Temari, Naruto's ears piped up. And upon the reveal of her condition, he wished that they hadn't. Sasuke's grip weakened on Sakura, and Sakura took a deep breath, steeling herself, as she broke free of his grasp. Sasuke was too in shock to follow his wife towards the Kage Desk where she walked towards, and simply his head turned to watch her, as his mouth slowly began to hang agape. Naruto stood up straight in his chair, turned his computer monitor off, and watched Sakura with wide, horrified eyes as she made her way to his desk.

The first thing she did when she got there was slam both of her hands down on the tabletop, and then lean forwards. Her face revealed it's stressed state, her eyes bore into his.

"…Her wounds were internal. Like I said earlier, they were completely different from Shikamaru's. Gripping, a few stabs here and there. A lot of traces of different poisons, most of which we had never seen before. But those poisons weren't going to kill her. They weren't meant to really kill anyone, just slowly shut down systems."

She took a breath, and then continued. Her voice began to crack, and Naruto could see the tears begin to well in her eyes.

"….What really is the… cause of her death… is the fact that her ribcage was crushed. And her heart, lungs and liver were _fucked_ along with it. She's… only still alive because she's strong, and her chakra has been slowing the loss of blood. But… it's running out… she has… at best maybe a day left…"

She shut her eyes as more tears began to well, and some of them fell down her cheeks, and onto the paperwork on Naruto's desk. He, on the other hand, kept his eyes wide, and his mouth hung open. In shock. In sadness. In fear.

In rage.

Sakura continued, and her voice finally broke.

"…All those years with Tsunade… and I still can't save her. No one can. Everything else… but her… lungs collapsed… We can't do a chakra transfer, none of us has a matching wavelength with her… not even… Shikamaru…"

Naruto's hands began to ball up into fists. He couldn't believe what he was hearing at all, and the entire situation began to tear at his psyche. The midnight assassination attempt. Siblings fighting siblings. Betrayals. Husbands in hospitals. Dying Wives.

All in the one place that none of this should be happening: Home. All within his village. All under his watch.

Naruto tried to turn away from Sakura, trying to avoid thinking about it any longer, but once his eyes left Sakura's, she slammed a fist into the desk, and broke it in two in front of her. Papers went flying, Naruto's computer went and crashed into the floor. Sakura stood up in front of him, her eyes still watering, and her voice still full of sorrow.

"Temari… doesn't deserve this. She doesn't _fucking _deserve this! We… we all know that! She loves this village as much as she loved hers! She's our friend, Naruto! For fuck's sake she _protected _this village! She… she was a key! Her relationship with… she… her ideals… her ideas! She _**helped **_us! She spent the last… she left her village because she wanted to _**help! **_She wanted to save… she… she has a _**Son, **_Naruto! He's…. he's seven! He… She has… Shikamaru's her _**husband, **_Naruto! What's going to happen to him? He's lost so much already… he's… we're…."

She loudly sucked in breath. By now her eyes were red, and her tears were falling like a waterfall. Naruto had left his chair, and was now standing. But that didn't matter. He didn't know what to do. Except look into Sakura's eyes, and try to listen.

And suddenly, Sakura's sorrow turned into ire, and she refocused on Naruto.

"… And **you. **You still want to try and save Gaara now, you fucking imbecile?! When he sneaked into our village, tried to kill his brother in law, and then _**killed his own sister!? His own flesh and blood!? **_Is that what you want to do!? You still want to waste time on that _**monster**_!? Do you!? When he _**made our friend a widower**_ and _**made his son motherless**_!? Well, Naruto!? Do you have an answer for that?! Do you!? Do you!? With all of the other shit he's put us through during the last ten years!? Do you want to still save him?! Do you-."

Sakura stopped her speech once she felt Sasuke's arms wrap around her from behind. And once she stopped, she immediately turned herself around to accept his hold once again, allowing herself to cry freely into Sasuke's chest.

"Shh… shh…" he whispered to her. "Shh, Sakura. It's not your fault… it's not _his _fault either. Please… Sakura… don't cry…"

Sasuke began to feel his own tears begin to flow from his eyes, as he spoke in agreement with his wife.

"…Temari didn't deserve this."

Naruto watched the couple for a few moments more, before taking a breath, and turning to look outside the window. The sun had finally set in the sky, and now the sky was a deep red. His mind processed everything that Sakura had told him, and it left him wordless and lost. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to think. He didn't even know what to expect.

_Shikamaru looked Naruto in his eyes, smiling._

"_You know, she's really troublesome. But what can I say? I love her. She's the wind that pushes my clouds."_

But the few things he did know slowly puttered out of his weak lips into the room that Team 7 now stood in. Slowly, these words made their way around the room, and into the very crevices of their minds, and their souls.

"…Heavens watch us," Naruto stated. But then he looked up out the window and into the red sky.

"But Heavens safeguard the Nara Clan. For Shikamaru Nara is about to plummet into Hell."

_AN: Thanks again for waiting, and thanks for reading up to this point! This story has a lot more to it! Remember to Review!_


	16. The Stag And The Doe

_AN: Alright. Time for everyone to hate me. But some of you might like the ending of this chapter. I dunno, I tried to get this out as fast as I could so that you guys wouldn't be kept waiting. But in case you couldn't tell from the last chapter, yeah, this chapter's going to be heavy. Get tissues. It's going to be okay._

_Also, I'm not going to spoil how I want this to end, but… yeah. I'm __**not**__ rewriting the Hidan Arc._

_**I do not own Naruto nor any of the characters in this fanfiction. **_

_Please remember to review. Even if you review more than once it really helps me know if I'm on the right track. Thank you very much, thanks for all of the feedback and reviews so far, and enjoy the chapter._

The first thing that Shikamaru Nara saw when he finally awoke from his slumber was a bright white light. Immediately thinking that he was still in the purgatory, he shot his hands up to his face, just to make sure that he still had them. They were both there, but unlike when he had been in the void, they were both bandaged. And unlike when he was in the void, he felt an even greater amount of pain when he moved them. He let out a short cry at this, weak and barely audible, and then grimaced as his vision improved as to reveal another person entering the view. As his vision slowly began to focus, his hands were grasped by a pair of soft hands, and then slowly placed at each of his sides. He didn't resist this.

"Shikamaru! Are you alright?! Here, take it easy! Calm down!"

Shikamaru's didn't struggle, and instead his eyes finished focusing on the blonde haired man standing in front of him, as he felt his arms detach from his own.

Naruto Uzumaki. Dressed in his Hokage uniform, minus his hat. Looking down on Shikamaru with an unusual look on his face.

Shikamaru took a breath. The rest of his vision began to return, and his emotions and his mind began to warm up as his senses slowly came to him. The room he was in was white and bare, and he was lying in a cot, his chest and arms wrapped up in a thick white bandage, stripped down to his pants. Beside him was a heart monitor machine, and he noticed that he had wires sticking into him in his arm, and with one at his neck, presumably to monitor his pulse. The machine was beeping at a steady pace, and he also assumed that this mean that he was fine. Looking around, he also quickly noticed that his room was rather small, nothing lined the walls, and there were only a few windows. Despite this, it was quite bright.

Finally, he could see his Hokage and close friend, Naruto Uzumaki, standing over him, and behind him a stool that he had presumably been sitting on. He surveyed his friend's face, and slowly noticed as Naruto's shocked expression soon faded into a neutral one, and then, after a moment more, into one of guilt.

Shikamaru blinked twice, and then finished gaining his bearings. Idly, he slowly remembered everything that had happened so far, from his assassination attempt, to Temari saving him, to seeing Asuma again. And now he was back on earth again, still alive.

The injured man squinted, and then idly flexed his joints. To his pleasure, they were all moveable. That was a good sign, at the very least. He watched as Naruto slowly moved to sit in a stool that was beside his bed, and at this his eyes narrowed. Naruto usually wasn't the one to greet him when he was in the hospital, he being the Hokage after all…

Shikamaru's throat felt like cardboard as he spoke.

"…Naruto?"

Naruto took a deep breath, and then leaned back. Noticing that Shikamaru was awake now, he allowed himself to lie.

"Shikamaru! You're awake! Well… that's great!" His words were unnecessarily loud.

The Nara Clan head felt a small headache begin to induce. Naruto's voice was being just a bit too expressive for his tastes. He was still trying to recover, after all.

He placed a hand onto his temple, and then slowly began to rub it. Naruto noticed this, and then placed a hand at the back of his head.

"Heh… sorry about that. Forgot you're still sort of recovering, you know?"

He let out an awkward chuckle, while Shikamaru continued to rub to try and soothe his new injury.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru then blinked, and his eyes scanned the room again.

"…How long was I… out? What happened?"

He needed to get right to the point. Whatever had happened on that day, he would have to sort out later. Naruto looked back towards Shikamaru, and then began to explain slowly.

"Well, Konoha's Police Force was given a call, and when the force got there, they saw that both you and Temari were out. Shikadai was there too, we dealt with him. He… should be at school now. You were both placed into the hospital, and since then… well we've just sort of been waiting for you to wake up to figure out a plan. The village is secure right now though, at the very least."

Shikamaru took a deep breath.

"Kankuro…? Gaara…?"

"Both missing. They haven't been seen in the village since the day of the attack."

Naruto took a breath.

"I guess they got away."

Shikamaru slowly clenched one of his fists, and then nodded. For the attack, he would have to get back at his brothers in law later. However…

"And you said that Shikadai was at school, right?"

"Yeah. You don't have to worry about him, he's safe."

Naruto answered that question too quickly. Shikamaru began to notice that his friend's face was slowly turning grim, and then ventured to ask one more question.

"And where's Temari?"

…_Here we go._

Naruto's eyes immediately left Shikamaru's. Shikamaru immediately noticed the movement, and he quickly began to feel sickly. Naruto turned his head away, and Shikamaru watched as his eyes narrowed, and became voluntarily distracted by the light of the window beside him. The sun was still rising in the sky, signifying the early morning time period, and therefore there was a slightly dull white that came in from the window.

Shikamaru continued to watch Naruto's sudden silence, before slowly, his eyes began to widen. Naruto kept his eyes on the outside world as he spoke the words that he knew would bring the death of his friend.

"…I'm sorry," he muttered. Naruto's voice felt like a heavy weight upon Shikamaru's psyche, and as he continued, it only got worse.

"…Gaara and Kankuro should've never been able to get as far into Konohagakure as they did. If I'd assigned better defences… they wouldn't have-."

"_**Where's Temari, Naruto?" **_

Naruto winced. His blue eyes slowly made their way back towards the body of the Nara Clan's Leader to notice that Shikamaru had propped himself up against the wall behind his bed. His eyes were attentive and frantic, his lips were shoved together, and his pose had quickly become tense. His hair still being up, Naruto could clearly see the few wrinkles that he had on his face tense up and appear more clearly now.

He took a deep breath, and then closed his eyes.

"… _**Temari's… dying, Shikamaru. Of… interior grievances. I'm… I'm sorry…"**_

…_**No.**_

For a few moments, neither of them found themselves able to do anything. Shikamaru's eyes slowly widened in horror, and his hand left his forehead, fully revealing the dismay on face. Naruto could see his friend's face lose its colour as well, as the acting Hokage slowly shook his head. His eyes slowly left Shikamaru's, as the other continued to linger for a moment longer, but before long-

Shikamaru spurred back to action. Immediately, he pushed himself up on the bed again and threw his legs over the side of his cot, cringing loudly once he felt the pain that resulted from his sudden movements. He bit his lips in pain, before Naruto moved in closer to try and comfort his friend.

"Shikamaru-."

"Where _**is **_she, Naruto?" He snapped harshly. Naruto looked into Shikamaru's eyes again to see that they were less horrified than before, and instead in a mixed state of panic and anger. When Naruto didn't answer him immediately, Shikamaru continued to push himself forwards, until both of his feet were standing on the ground.

Due to his condition, he wouldn't stay standing up like that for very long. He quickly fell over, and found himself having to lean against the wall for balance. Naruto turned himself over to Shikamaru, who continued to lean on the wall as his friend began to try and take steps forwards. With every step, he could see Shikamaru flinch in pain, and after a while he began to moan lightly after each stride.

He was heading towards the door.

Naruto stood up to stand in front of him, and when Shikamaru continued to try and push past him, the Hokage placed both of his hands on each of his shoulders.

"Where _**IS **_she, Naruto?!" He repeated. His voice was still groggy and weak from his injuries, but even the Hero of Konoha could hear the discord in it.

"Shikamaru, you still got to rest-."

"Where _is _she, Naruto?!"

"You're hurting yourself-."

"_I don't care. _Where's Temari?!"

"Do you think she'd want you to-."

"_I don't care I need to se-."_

Shikamaru finally lost his balance and found himself nearly falling to the floor, only avoiding the ground thanks to Naruto's quick motions. Holding his friend by his shoulders, Shikamaru slowly found his footing again, before falling back onto his rear, and onto the cold hospital floor beneath him.

The man still standing watched in awe as the saw Shikamaru continue his effort to stand. The Nara Clan head found the bed sheet that he had once been wrapped in, and gripped it tightly, before fiddling his feet until they found their stability once again. The man slowly used the bed to pull himself back up, and after a few trips ands and temporary loses of power, he found himself standing up straight in front of Naruto once again.

The blonde found difficulty looking at Shikamaru once again, and began to regret that he even gave the man the news in the first place. But before he could think any further, Shikamaru's' voice returned to the room.

"Naruto-."

"The room across the hall from us," he muttered, finally giving up. "…Just… be careful, Shikamaru."

Naruto took a step out of his way, and watched as Shikamaru began to walk past him making sure that he stuck to the walls so that he wouldn't fall again. After a moment or two of watching his friend struggle, Naruto moved to slug him over his shoulder, and began to carry him out of the room, being careful to balance him and make sure that he would not fall. Hollow steps soon became the only sound in the room, before they left it.

Once in the hallway, Naruto turned to look at Shikamaru, and then noticed as the hand that he once had slugged around him left his back, and Shikamaru stood on his own again. With a silent determination, his friend had opened the door in front of him, the door leading to the room that Temari had been in, and closed it behind him, leaving Naruto in the hallway by himself.

Naruto's painful frown remained. After spending a few moments watching the door, he took a deep breath, and sat himself on the bench in between the two rooms. Placing his head into his hands, he allowed himself to slouch forwards and lose composure, for the first time in a long while, and then let himself take a deep breath. Not a breath of relief, but instead a breath to prepare himself to what would happen next.

Whatever that might be.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru had hoped that Naruto had lied to him. He had begged that for once, Naruto had said something that didn't turn out to be true. It had happened in the past. All that he had needed to happen was for it to happen again. Just to happen one more time, just for old time's sake. Just so when he entered this room, he wouldn't be entering his wife's deathbed. So when he had entered this room, he wouldn't have to have learned what it was to stare at a death that wasn't aimed towards you. Just so when he entered this room, Shikamaru wouldn't have to feel what it felt to lose someone you loved yet _again. _

But, as the fates would have it, Naruto didn't seem to be lying.

The room he had entered was much dimmer than the one he had woken up in, by a large margin. It was about the same size as his room, however. The windows that had been clear in his room were covered now by blinds. Half of the lights in the room were off, and the ones that weren't stood directly over Shikamaru's head. Oddly, the room was perfectly clean, despite the faint, yet potent smell of dried blood coming from…

The cot beside the room's back wall.

Shikamaru looked towards it, and felt a dagger stab his heart once he confirmed that it was indeed Temari beneath those sheets.

Even from where he stood at the door, he could still see her blonde hair. Her lightly tanned skin.

He slowly began to grip his fists, before he slowly began to walk closer to her cot. His heavy steps were the only thing heard in the entire room, other than the light beeps from a monitor machine. There was a chair next to her bed already, and thus he was able to sit himself down in it once he was close enough. And once he was sitting he was also graced with being able to see another thing, this time more clearly.

Her.

She looked so peaceful, Shikamaru lamented. Her hands were at her sides, both being bandaged up just like his were. Her hair was still up in in its four ponytails, her face clean and clear, save for the scar on her chin and the other on her neck. Her normally deep green eyes were closed, and her lips were pressed together to show that they were closed as well. She was wearing some hospital scrubs, but Shikamaru could see that underneath them the entirety of her chest was covered in bandages.

He continued to look at her in disbelief as he began to slowly pick up the beeping of the heart monitor. It was much slower than his had been, and her breathing sounded off, sounded wrong. He slowly lifted one of his bandaged hands to check her pulse, touching her neck softly, and closed his eyes in shame as he noted that it was at the same rate her heart monitor was at, slow and irregular. He shut his eyes in pain, lowering his head-

Before suddenly hearing a rustling from in front of him, and then feeing a cold sense touch the hand he had on her neck.

His eyes snapped open, and his head slowly raised to see…

Temari's deep green eyes open, and stare into his.

He flinched, but so did she. The silence between them continued, as the both of them struggled to come up with anything to say to the other. But at the same time, both feared that words wouldn't do any good, or only make matters worse. There was no denial of what was happening, not between either of them. Temari's heart monitor, Naruto's words, both of their appearances were more than a million verses. She was dying, he was going to live.

They were soon going to be apart.

Shikamaru gripped one of his fists at the revelation, and then slowly removed his hand from her neck. Temari weakly took in a breath, and her hand followed his until it was resting on her chest. Through the bandages, they could both still feel each other. Her cold. His warmth. His life. Her death.

Shikamaru continued to look into her face, while she did the same to him. Both of their faces adding more words to the story, without even a parted lip. It… hurt to look into each other's eyes. It hurt to glance at each other's faces. Shikamaru's broken stare. Temari's saddened gaze.

Shikamaru's eyes soon broke from Temari's. He heard Temari take in another breath, this one more ragged than the other, and soon, he heard her voice for the first time in a long while.

"…I left…" she began. Shikamaru shook his head from his position on his chair. She sounded so weak, so pathetic. This wasn't like her at all. After a moment more, he heard her give out a weak cough, and she tried again.

"…I left… pre-prepared at least two lunches for you and Shikadai to eat. Just… for now. They're… they're pretty easy to make… and I left instructions on how to make most of my other meals attached to the fridge. You should be able to make them… they're really not all that hard…"

_…For fuck's sake. _

This was just like her. Giving him more directions, giving him pointers. Making sure that such… frivolous things were taken care of. Thinking of only completing the mission, no matter what casualties that were sustained along the way. No matter what would happen to her. No matter what _was _happening to her.

It was almost like, she didn't care that she was dying. As if to her… it didn't matter. Not at all.

He began to shake in his position, and idly rubbed Temari's hand, rubbing her chest at the same time. At the very least, he wanted her to feel comfortable. He had so much to say to her, but found himself unsure of exactly how to say it. How would you even begin? What would you even say? How would you even say it?

Temari's voice entered the fray once more, while Shikamaru silently brooded in his position.

"…Oh… and… also. Make sure that Shikadai goes to school. Sometimes he'll try to skip out on it… but… genius or not… he needs to pass the academy. He's not… exactly lazy. I think… he's just demotivated. But if he ever _gets _motivated… he'll be a great ninja. Maybe he'll even… make it to Jonin… like we did. Maybe he'll… become something greater than that…"

_Temari… just…_

Shikamaru nodded weakly, and Temari continued.

"…Remember the enemy's weak points too. Admittedly… Sunagakure doesn't… never did have a lot… of good close range fighters. It's the… way of the wind… I suppose. It's… defences… from what I can remember defences were down… are down… more when it's raining or when there's a sandstorm… but you don't want to attack during a… sandstorm…"

He voice trailed off for the third time. By now, Shikamaru was shaking uncomfortably, and this shaking was also trailing to the one hand that he had on her. He couldn't believe this, not at all. If it wasn't happening in front of him, he would simply think that it was Genjutsu. A joke. Some cruel, unfair joke.

But no, it wasn't. Temari was dying. His _wife _was dying.

For fuck's sake, how were they supposed to fulfill their dream _**now?**_

__"…And please remember to take care of the plants… the ones in our backyard? I wo-."

"Why didn't you listen to me?"

Temari's eyes widened softly, and then she slowly turned her head towards Shikamaru, to see that her husband had his head looking towards the ground. His eyes were narrowed, and she could see traces of his face were turning into a reddish colour. She would speak again.

"…It doesn't mat-."

"Why didn't you?"

"…Please just remember to water the cacti-."

"_**Temari of the Tornado why didn't you fucking listen to me?!"**_

__Shikamaru's voice had projected clearly throughout the room, a stark contrast to Temari's weak whispers. His eyes were looking directly at hers now, and she could see that his face was a deep red now. The hand that was resting on her chest was now gripping hers, and the volume of his speech as he continued almost hid the sound of his heart breaking. _Almost._

"For once in your life… for once in my life… for once in _your_ life… why didn't you listen!? I told you that you needed to run! You needed to get out of there! You didn't need to get involved and I did my best to make sure that you _**didn't **_get involved! I… I was the one who was… every single time… you never listen. You didn't listen to me during the _**fire. **_You didn't listen to me when the village was attacked. You didn't listen to me during the kidnapping. Why. Why did you… never… _**freaking…**_ listen…?'

Shikamaru's voice faded away, and he used his other hand to cover his face. Temari's eyes shut, and she could almost feel her lover sobbing, through the hand that was still on her. The room became silent once again, except for the beeping of her monitor, as the both of them once again became lost in their thoughts.

Temari nearly shed tears then, but she couldn't let herself. At the very least now, she needed to stay strong, at least for Shikamaru's sake, despite her feeling personally. She didn't want to die, no one really did. If she had any power over the world, she would re-write everything. She would be successful in stopping her brothers from starting the war. She would have been successful in speaking to her brothers the nights before, she would have drew them away. Somehow, the war wouldn't have started. Somehow, it would be like both she and Shikamaru had wanted it. Just him and her. With their child, Shikadai. Together. Growing old, raising their son into a fine shinobi, playing and talking with friends, laughing and bonding. Spending the days working. The evenings playing shogi. The nights making love.

But of course, that was impossible. That was a dream. This was a reality.

She took a deep breathe, and then slowly gripped Shikamaru's hand. Shikamaru slowly removed his other hand from his face, and Temari gave him a stern, yet loving look.

"… If I had listened to you… you would have been long dead by now. And the moment I married you, the moment I ran away with you, I knew that I couldn't let you die…"

Shikamaru grit his teeth.

"…Why?"

Temari took in a shaky breath, and then weakly smiled.

"Because I love you."

Shikamaru could almost feel himself split in two.

He bit back a loud sob, and returned his head to its position behind his hand. Tears were beginning to slowly stream down his face now, his emotions beginning to break through, and upon seeing his tears, Temari began to weakly rub his hand with both of hers. Upon feeling the gesture, Shikamaru slowly inched in closer to her, leaning over her to hug her from his position on the chair. Temari took in a quick breath at the intrusion of her space, but after a moment she didn't mind it at all. She moved her arms to wrap around him, and pulled him in closer, until his head was on her neck. He did the same, and then took a deep breath in, holding back his tears for a moment.

"…I love you too. You… you know I do…"

She patted his back lightly. As their meeting went on, she could feel herself getting weaker and weaker, to the point where she was now struggling to even hold him as he was holding her. But despite her newfound weakness, she would continue to hold onto him. If this was the last act she would do, then it was fine with her.

For moments longer, the outside world was irrelevant to the both of them. All that mattered was each other. Shikamaru's attempts to spread his warmth onto her. Temari's attempts to stay awake. And that's how it stayed, until finally Shikamaru heard a loud beep from the heart monitor machine beside them, and his eyes moved to monitor it.

And with horror, he instantly noted that her heartbeat was getting slower.

He reluctantly broke their hug, but before he did he left a quick, desperate kiss on her cheek. She found herself slightly blushing at that and they both moved so that they were holding each of each other's hands on her chest. A moment passed once more, and Shikamaru shook his head sadly, all while giving her a hopeful, neutral look.

"…What do we do now…?" He murmured. Temari shivered, and then retained her sad smile.

"…I don't know… all I know is… I want you to… this is unfair for you… I'm dying and… I'm still giving you so much to do-."

"I'll do it. I'll… I'll handle it. Just… let me know what it is. I'll do it…"

Temari sucked in a breath, and her eyes softened on Shikamaru.

"…Could… could you… do you really want to-."

"I failed to protect you, and that's why you're…fading now. At the very least… let me carry out your will."

"You didn't fail-."

"_Please, _Temari."

Temari felt a sudden jolt to her chest, and then the heart monitor beside her made a loud noise. Shikamaru looked at it, and then back at her. Another heart-rate drop. It wouldn't be long now.

She was almost gone.

She knew this as well, and so finally spoke up again, beginning to rub his hands.

"… Don't give up, Shikamaru. Don't give up on our dream."

Shikamaru's eyes slowly began to widen. _Their Dream…_

_ She had that dream too… I remember._

Their dream of uniting their villages. Their dream of protecting both of their homelands, but also making other homelands better. Their dream of carving a new ninja world, through diplomacy and peace instead of fighting and war. Their dream of making everything better, just one step at a time. Their dream… their shared wish. His Will of Fire, extended to protect her village, and other villages as well. Her love for her village, extended to his village, and to others. Their dream…

It seemed so unmanageable now.

His tears became less frequent, and he gripped her hands. She continued at this gesture.

"… Your Will of Fire… My love for my village… my Drive of the Wind… please… if you can even just carry it out a little bit… I'll be able to rest easily…"

Shikamaru took a deep breath, almost as if he was sucking in the encumbrance that she had given to him, and nodded strongly, his hands rubbing and gripping hers. He didn't need to think about it at all. It was _theirs._

"I'll do it..." he said. "…I give you my word. This… I'll end this war… I'll finish it… and both of our villages will be safe. They'll be… great. They'll be _better."_

Temari sucked in another breath, and another loud beep went to the heart monitor. Her pulse had lowered again.

"…Please remember…Shikamaru," she said. By now, her voice was barely audible, and he could feel her shake. "Part… part of our dream was that… we'd both we safe… I can't... I won't be but… take care of yourself, Shika…"

Shikamaru could feel his tears return to him, and he nodded, narrowing his eyes in pain. He gripped her hands tighter, as if he could possibly keep her in this world if he just gripped tight enough. If he just held onto her enough. If he just silently begged enough. If he cried enough.

But even through his barely controlled sobs, he knew that whatever he did was fruitless. That no matter what, Temari Nara would die today.

And when the heart monitor beeped once again, he knew that she would not last another hour in this world.

Let alone ten minutes.

_Beep._

Perhaps not even a minute.

He looked back into her eyes, to see that they were barely open. Temari was nearly gone, one of her legs already in her grave, and the other one off the ground in the world of the living. And yet, she still retained a hopeful look, trying to make it seem like this wasn't also affecting her.

And yet it was. Temari was scared.

When she died, she wouldn't be able to be there when Shikadai grew up. She wouldn't be able to see Sunagakure ever again. She wouldn't be able to meet up with her girlfriends and relax anymore. She wouldn't be able to advise the Hokage occasionally on the war. She wouldn't be able to see how the war ended. She wouldn't be able to see her brothers again, she wouldn't be able to try and make amends with them.

But worst of all, she wouldn't be able to be a part of Shikamaru's life anymore.

She wouldn't be able to wake up beside him after a good night's sleep, and tease him before they both got up to go to their respective duties. She wouldn't be able to see him after he returned from work, and perhaps walk the boundaries of the Nara forest together, inspecting the deer and allowing themselves to get lost together. They'd never play Shogi again, she'd never beat him in that infernal game. She wouldn't be able to make love to him. She wouldn't be able to kiss him ever again. She wouldn't be able to curl up to him late at night, and allow him to whisper sweet words into her ear, and make her know that it would be alright.

She wouldn't be able to love him. Today, this minute, these moments, were the last that she had to be with him.

And for him, it was the same.

Asuma. Shikaku. Yoshino. Temari. Now her name was etched into the list of names, the list of people, which he had lost. The list of people that he needed, but now were leaving him. Asuma, Temari. The list of people that needed him, but he had been too weak to help them. Shikaku, Yoshino, Temari. The list of people who were now depending on him, and he had to make sure he didn't let down. Temari, Shikaku. The list of people he had loved, whom he had lost to wars.

_Bloody wars._

And he knew on the inside that it was most likely that that list was only going to grow. For he had chosen the life of a shinobi, and such loss was typical of such an existence.

And it was likely that the cause of more of his loss were going to be his own brothers-in-law. They had already taken Temari away from him.

Their. Own. Sister.

A multitude of emotions were taking over Shikamaru's recovering body. Ire. For the fact that Temari was being taken away from him as a consequence of his weakness and her brother's actions. Sorrow. For the fact that his wife, partner, lover, mate, and the mother of his child was being taken away from him, and he could do nothing to stop it. Terror, for he knew that she was not going to be the last one to leave him. There were many more people that the war, that _her _brothers, could take away from him. If they could take Temari, they could take Choji. If they could take Temari, they could take Ino. If they could take Temari, they could take Mirai.

_If they could take Temari, they could take Shikadai. __**His own son.**_

He gripped her hands tightly, and the tears that streamed freely down his cheeks continued their assault. He couldn't handle it. He couldn't understand it. He was already lifeless now that Temari was leaving, but if Shikadai was ever taken away from him... there'd be nought left of him.

But he was already lifeless.

He finally snapped.

"…Temari… please… don't…"

He would plead, but there was no point in it.

"Temari please… for… there has to be some way…"

The heart monitor beeped again. He knew there was nothing he could do.

"Temari for…"

He could see the colour fading from her face, and the action of her rubbing his hand became slower and slower as she lost what strength she had left.

"Temari you can't… for fuck's sake… I can't be…"

He had been through too much.

"I can't… why are… why are you taking _**her**_?"

He had lost too much already.

"I… Tem… what did I do to… deserve this…?"

_"If you go back to Sunagakure again, I don't know what I'll do with my life at __**all."**_

__"This… I…"

_"I'll probably participate in the war, do my duty, blah blah blah, until I find out that you're __**dead**__."_

Shikamaru was crying fully now, and he didn't care.

_"And then what's going to happen?"_

Temari was leaving, and there was nothing that he could do about it.

_"I'm going to sputter around, feel sorry for myself, and maybe cry like a baby, like I did for everyone else in my life who's died so far."_

Another beep.

_"And with your death, it's going to be even __**worse**__,"_

He gripped her hands so tightly, that his nearly turned pure white.

"Temari…"

_"Because you're more __**special **__to me than anyone who's ever died yet."_

Finally, she gripped his hand back.

_"I get it."_

"Shikamaru…"

_"You know, nothing that either of us can do is going to make this any easier."_

"Shikamaru… it's ok. It's going to be ok, Shikamaru."

Her stony façade was slowly crumbling, and he looked towards her to see that she was now crying too. Another beep. Another heart-rate drop. Another moment closer to death.

"…Shikamaru… everything's going to… everything's going to turn out just fine…"

Shikamaru took a deep breath to try and stop his crying, and Temari gave out a weak, light chuckle.

"…My my my. It's been… how many years… and you're still a crybaby."

Shikamaru shuddered, and Temari began to use whatever was left of her strength to raise one of her hands to Shikamaru's cheek. With her cold fingers, she caressed him, trying to make him feel better, wiping some of his tears away. Trying to comfort him. Trying to make this less terrifying for the both of them.

"…You're going to be fine…Shikamaru. Everything's going to turn out alright for you… Just. Make sure that… you take care of… yourself… And our son… Shikadai. This… it's going to be hard… being a single… lonely father… but… please…"

"I… I will just… I'm going to miss… I'm going to-."

"…Please… please try to…"

_"You... haven't figured it out yet?"_

Sudden, Temari gave out a loud, hacking cough. Shikamaru cringed in horror as he saw that there were droplets of blood now on her face, and quickly moved a hand to wipe them off.

It was over now.

"…Shikamaru… don't… don't waste too much… time on me. I'm… I'm gone… but… Shikadai… everyone else here… they're still… here for you…"

There was a pause, and Shikamaru gripped her hands tighter. She weakly continued.

"…I'll be… up there… in heaven. I'll… save a spot for you… when you're… when it's your time too…"

_"... You're really going to come with me?"_

Another pause.

"…But I'll be watching. And… I'll still be here with you… in a way."

_"... Yes."_

Another beep. She gasped suddenly. Shikamaru felt an agony in his heart.

"…And… do what you must… do what you must… to save our villages. I… you know I love… the both of them. It's… it's your, no… _our _Will of Fire… right…?"

Shikamaru's tears were beginning to dry, but they were also still falling down his cheeks. Temari looked at him with weak eyes, and then tried to brighten her smile, trying to push her positive, hopeful emotions onto him as well.

"…Can I get… one last kiss?" She whispered. By now her words were nearly unintelligible.

_"Don't worry Tem. It's going to be worth it. You'll see."_

Shikamaru took a breath, and then leaned over her, some of his tears falling onto her face.

_"And… that's why you shouldn't worry about me dying, Temari. Especially now, I have to stick around to make sure that the King is protected. And my Queen piece, of course."_

And their lips connected, for the last time. One last burst of passion between the both of them. One last show of love.

His fire tried to reach her for the last time…

"…I love you…Shikamaru. Don't… give up... on our dream. Please… look after… our child. Tell Shikadai that I love him. But remember… to protect yourself… as well…"

But she was the wind.

And finally, when Shikamaru backed away from her, her deep green eyes finally closed, her hands stopped moving, and her body slacked away. And the smile that she wore on her face for him faded away.

Shikamaru stood on the chair that he had sat in, and finally the heart monitor hit a flat line. His eyes left hers, and words slowly appeared on the screen.

_Date: October 25__th_

_ Time: 07:38_

_ Status of Patient: Deceased._

_ Deceased._

Dead.

Temari Nara, eldest child and only daughter of the Hidden Sand Village's 4th Kazekage, eldest and only sister of the legendary Sand Siblings, former Kazekage candidate, greatest wind user in the Land of Wind, matriarch of the Nara Clan, and wife to Shikamaru Nara, the Stag of Konohagakure…

Was dead.

Temari was dead.

Temari was _**gone**_, and she wasn't coming back.

After twenty-five years of them knowing of each other, seventeen years of being together, ten years of marriage, and seven years of parenthood, she was out of his life.

And once that statistic finally resonated within Shikamaru's head, he felt a feeling that should have been familiar to him, but found itself being different this time around…

The feeling of loss.

But now… it was mixed with anger. It was mixed with a hatred. It was mixed with sorrow. It was mixed with embarrassment, with pain and with regret…

But it was also mixed with a feeling of Unknowing. Because now…

Shikamaru didn't know what to do.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fifteen minutes later, Shikamaru Nara finally left the room in which his wife passed from the world.

His steps were heavy, and his eyes were soulless. Whatever tears that were on his face, he had been sure to rub out, so that no one now could see them. He saw Naruto sitting on the bench, his eyes were still downcast, and the look on his face was still sorrowful.

But he couldn't bear to talk right now, not to him. Even if he had given him the privilege of being with his wife when she died.

Instead, he would walk away from his Hokage, and instead up the hall towards the hospital's exit. In truth, he didn't know exactly where he was going, nor where he even wanted to go. All he knew was that he wanted to leave this place.

Footsteps heavy. Breathing ragged, and tense. His face blank, and emotionless. Medical nin rushed through the hallway and passed him, some of them giving him their apologies. They were likely heading for Temari's room. He didn't care.

He continued to walk, until he was about to round the corner. Before he could, another person came around it, but unlike the medical nin, Shikamaru noticed him.

He noticed this person because this person, no, child, was his son. Shikadai. The last thing that he had of Temari in this world.

Shikadai walked, until he looked up and saw his father. The very same green eyes that Shikamaru thought he'd never see again were now staring up at him in shock and awe. They stayed that way, until the boy registered that he was staring up at his father, and rushed into his father's torso for a hug. A hug of relief. His Hokage hadn't lied to him at all. His father was fine, walking, okay, and still breathing.

Shikamaru's face retained it's blank features, before they sorrowed instantly. Because he had a son now, but that son had no mother. Meaning that…

"Dad. You're alright!"

Shikamaru hugged into the hug, and then patted Shikadai on the back when the boy pulled away. He noticed the knapsack on his back, and then tried his best to give his son a smile, to comfort him, despite the circumstances.

"Shikadai. Isn't… aren't you supposed to be at school?"

His son looked up at him, and shrugged.

"Yeah! But I was just… checking on you! I didn't think that you were going to be up so fast though! Sak- I mean Mrs. Uchiha did say that you were going to be out for a while, but I guess you're stronger than that."

He could see the excitement in his son's eyes, and wanted to stab himself in the gut for what he knew that he had to do…

"So, if you're fine… then what about Mom? Is she up too?"

It was time.

Shikamaru took a deep breath, and then calmed himself. _No man should have to do this to his own __**fucking**__ son…._

But he had to. If he didn't do it, then Shikadai would only resent him later when he found out.

The Head of the Nara Clan slowly kneeled so that he was the same height as Shikadai, and softened his features. Shikadai's young eyes widened in confusion, before his father began to speak, his own voice shaking with a multitude of emotions.

"…Shikadai… your mother's…"

Shikamaru's voice trailed off. Instead, the expression on his face was enough to give Shikamaru an account of his mother's face. The look of a million negative emotions. The expression of loss.

And suddenly, Shikadai understood exactly why those medical nin had rushed past him, and whatever excitement he had had this morning faded away into an emotion that no boy should have had to feel…

"…No…"

His nightmare had come true.

"…Yes, son…" his father answered through gritted teeth.

"She's…"

He couldn't bring himself to say it. But he didn't need to.

"…No…"

Shikadai's face soon turned to panic, and his eyes immediately looked past his father, and instead at the room where he had been told his mother was in.

"…Mom… no… no you're lying. You… you…"

"I wouldn't lie to you…"

Shikadai moved past his father, dropping his knapsack with him, and began to rush towards the room that Shikamaru had just left. His emotions were even more obvious than his father's.

"Mom? Mom!?"

He tried to get in, but Shikamaru turned his head to see that a medical nin was blocking his way. After a few moments, his son was left banging on the door outside, trying to get in.

"Mom!? Mom!? Please let me in! My Mom's in there! Please! Mom?! Let me see my Mom! I need to see my mom!"

Shikamaru could almost feel his tears begin again. Naruto didn't raise his head, and instead took in the chaos that was unravelling in front of him, accepting the realities of the war they were fighting. Accepting the truths of the world they lived in.

"Mom! You can't just leave me and Dad alone! Mom! Mom!"

Shikadai eventually stopped his banging, knowing that it was fruitless, futile, and instead stood in front of the door, for once in his life allowing his emotions to shine true, his tears coming quickly.

"I… please I never got to say goodbye! I never got to do… so much with her! She never got to see my graduate! I never got to… Mom why… why won't you… _**Mom…Mom!**_ Just let me see my Mom! _**Please**_!"

On October 24th, in the 10th year of the Konoha-Sunagakure Conflict, Gaara of the Sand Waterfall, The Kazekage of Sunagakure, and Kankuro of the Black Sands, his brother, attempted to assassinate Shikamaru Nara, also known by the moniker of the Great Stag of Konohagakure. Nearly succeeding, they were foiled by their own sister, Temari Nara of the Tornado, who fought them off, herself receiving and sustaining fatal injuries from the attack. Both Shikamaru and Temari Nara were brought to Konohagakure's main hospital, and by the morning Sakura Uchiha was able to confirm that Shikamaru would survive. In the evening, she confirmed that Temari would not. And finally, the day after, October 25th in the 10th Year of the Konoha-Sunagakure Conflict, Temari Nara died of internal bleeding at exactly 07:38 hours. Murdered by her own brothers. Intention unknown.

That is what the records would show of what would be come to known as the "incident". But to everyone involved, it was a much simpler narrative. Gaara and Kankuro tried to kill Shikamaru. Temari protected him. A day later, Shikamaru lost his wife, Shikadai lost his mother…

And now, because of this, a motherless boy was crying in front of a hospital room, and his father was frozen in place, away from him.

All while the 7th Hokage observed, and began to question his world, his war, and worst of all…

Himself.

_Thanks for reading as always!_


	17. Consequence

_AN: Special mini-chapter! I decided to upload it on the same day as the last one, since the last one was really sad. Alright, let's do this!_

_I sort of wish I knew more about Japanese mythology, because this came out a bit too western. Either way… let's start._

_**I do not own any of the character, nor do I own Naruto.**_

__The Hidden Sand Jonin opened his eyes slowly. When he did, he was expecting to see fire. He was expecting to see brimstone. He was expecting to maybe even see a demon or two, welcoming him to the Underworld. That's where people like him went, anyways. There was no grace of Bliss for shinobi, or so he believed. They were murderers. They were thieves. They literally made a living off of committing, what most would call, acts of evil. Perdition was a given for them.

But instead of Hell, when Kankuro of the Black Sand opened his eyes, he saw grey. Lots and lots of grey.

Utterly confused, he man made movements to sit up against whatever he was leaning against. It was a wall, he quickly learned, and above him was a small, barred window. His eyes looked forwards to see a series of bars, and through these bars was a small area that was closed off by a large, steel door. The area he was in was well lit, with white lights shining from above.

He continued to look at his surroundings for a few moments, until instantly figuring it all out.

"… _**Fuckin' shit**_!"

He hadn't died that day, then, it seemed. Whatever the hell had happened to him, he didn't die. Judging by what he had seen, he had been captured. Healed back up to living, and captured.

To be interrogated. By the Hidden Leaf Village.

He instantly tried to move forwards, only to notice that he couldn't even stand up. Looking down, he saw that his right leg, his lost leg, had been cleanly amputated, leaving a stump that ended just above where his knee should have been. His other leg was fine, but it was chained to the floor. He tried to move his arms, only to find that they were chained to the wall as well. He looked down on himself, seeing his black outfit gone, rubbed his face to find that his paint had been washed off, and rubbed his head to see that his buzz-cut was, thankfully, still there.

He took a deep breath. His puppets and his scrolls were likely confiscated as well. He had given his hood to Gaara-

Gaara. He… he should have been able to leave the village safely. At the very least Gaara was safe.

But if he was here, then there was a high chance that he would never see Shiori or Okuni again…

The man sighed deeply, and then leaned back against the wall. But now that he was here, there was no real chance of him escaping. He was missing a leg, and he had nothing to replace it. Even if he could figure out a way to escape, there was no way that he'd be able to leave his cell quick enough without becoming caught. Without his leg, as a Ninja, he was completely useless.

As he thought of this, he idly reached out an arm to grasp and soothe the stump where his leg used to be. It didn't hurt much, but it still stung. If he ever returned to Sunagakure, he would have to get some sort of replacement for his leg. It shouldn't be too hard. Both Sasori and Chiyo had prosthetic limbs. Kankuro would just be another in the long line of Puppet master Amputees, it seemed.

Now, all he had to do was survive the interrogation.

He had heard stories of the Hidden Leaf Village's Torture and Interrogation force. Not quite as ruthless and harsh as his own village's, but still a force to be reckoned with. Headed by Ibiki Morino-

_"Was your doll playing beneficial? Just sit down."_

Kankuro let out a smirk. That bastard had been his Chuunin Exam Proctor, once. Idly, he wondered if he'd remember him, despite all of the years that had passed. Then, he quickly chided himself. Even if he did remember him, it would probably only make things worse-.

Suddenly, he heard a door open loudly, and then lifted his head from his thoughts to see-.

"Wakey-Wakey!"

Kankuro lifted a hand in front of his eyes to block the sudden burst of light that came into the room, and then slowly removed his arm once he was done. He looked up at the door to see…

Ino Yamanaka.

Her presence here confused him. For the most part, he hadn't heard anything about her throughout the entire war. Except for the time he nearly killed Shikamaru, he hadn't even seen her.

But she was here now, dressed in a long, open, black overcoat, a dark grey vest, with her forehead protector around her head as a headband. Her long blonde hair was still in her usual ponytail, but it was a bit longer now. She still had a bang that went over her right eye, and there were now a few, small scars around her visible left eye. On her belt, there were a lot of kunai, and also what seemed to be a recorder of some sort. And, oddly, lifted high and proud in her right hand was a cup of tea. She took a few steps forwards, shut the door behind her, and then took a deep draw out of the cup.

Seeing her actions, and seeing her presence here, Kankuro took a gulp of courage, and then messed up his face into a sneer.

"That drink for me?" He snickered. "Thanks for bearing me in mind. Had a rough night."

At this, he could see Ino roll her eyes, then narrow them at the man who stood in front of her.

"Pfft. I'm sure you did. You know, you and your brother made a big mess yesterday. We _should _have you clean it up. But, I think this way of payback's much better."

She took another sip out of her cup, and then took a deep breath. Kankuro studied her face. While it was stony and unimpressed, he could tell that _something _was bothering her…

And then he grinned even wider. _Looks like Shikamaru really did die-_

_"Just… just get out of here, Kankuro. You too, Gaara. You… you know as well as I that me being here doesn't change shit. You're still going to try and kill him."_

Kankuro growled at the memory, and then spat on to the ground beside him. The revelation of Temari's betrayal was still fresh in his mind, and even now he still didn't know exactly how he felt about it. Was it truly her idea, or had Shikamaru been manipulating her, filling her mind with bullshit and lies, so that she ended up believing him? And how much of this war, how many of Konoha's victories were because of her? How many Sand Ninja died, indirectly or not, by her hand?

His thoughts were interrupted by Ino speaking again. Loud and clear. In charge, as usual.

"You should be able to figure out the deal. Basically, we're going to interrogate you until we get what we need out of you. Then, either we alert the Kazekage to the fact that we have you, or we let you go, or maybe we even _kill _you. We're not sure yet. We haven't started yet."

Kankuro narrowed his eyes.

"You think you can make me talk? That's funny. You mind passing me over what you've been drinking? Must be some strong liquor."

Ino shrugged.

"We don't need to make you talk to find out what's on your mind, you know."

"Oh yeah? How're you going to learn what's on my mind then?"

This time, it was Ino's turn to smile.

"…You _do _remember my Clan's techniques, right? Do you remember what we can do?"

For a moment, Kankuro kept the grin that was on his face large and powerful, while he thought back to all of the times he had fought other Yamanakas during the war, as well as their abilities during the previous one. Mind transfer Jutsu, Mind Clone Switch Jutsu, Mind Body Switch Jutsu, Mind Disturbance Jutsu-

And then it hit him, and Kankuro flinched, his grin quickly fading. Ino smirked at this, took another sip from her cup, and then continued.

"We don't need you to say _anything, _Kankuro," she taunted. Outside of his cell, she began to pace back and forth.

"Because we can just enter your mind and figure out what you _would _say. Take a journey in it. Make notes. And the best part is, that you can't _stop _us from doing that. Or rather _me. _Since you have the privilege of getting the _Head_ of the Torture and Interrogation Force as your head inquisitor. You're pretty lucky."

She paused her pacing, and then gave the man a cruel giggle. From the inside of his cell, Kankuro began to feel mildly annoyed. He didn't like it when people underestimated him at all. There had to be _some _way to get back at her, despite her position of pow-.

_"…Truth? You… you want the truth?" _

Kankuro gave off a sickly grin. He usually didn't do this, but…

"I guess Nara was pretty lucky yesterday too, eh Ino? When I made Crow shove its spike deep into his chest, and then made him bleed out on the back porch of his own home. Most people don't get the luxury of dying at home."

And with those words, something snapped within Ino. From his position inside the cell, he could see her gaze darken, and then watched as she gripped the cup in her hand tighter. Then, she slowly turned herself completely towards him, and then narrowed her eyes at him.

"… Oh right… that's what you _think _happened that day…"

Kankuro raised a brow.

"What I _think_? Naa, that's what _happened_, girlie."

Ino shook her head.

"No… not at all… you… you… freaking… kinslaying-."

"Kinslaying? Like a kin-slayer? What the hell are you going on ab-."

"You didn't kill Shikamaru on that day, Kankuro."

Kankuro hardened his eyes at that.

"…Then who did I end up killing…?"

Ino's eyes darkened, and she turned her eyes away from him, and took the last sip from her cup, before it emptied. Then, she took a deep breath in, and then exhaled.

"…Temari. You killed _Temari."_

At first, he scoffed at this idea. He hadn't attacked Temari that badly, both, no, all three of them were clearly holding back from really injuring each other. They had all maintained their distance. She hadn't been attacked enough for her to-.

_Temari rose into the sky, being lifted up by a pillar of sand._

Kankuro's face slowly widened with horror. If Gaara had done that, then-.

"…Lying," he muttered, in utter disbelief. "You're _lying_."

Ino shook her head, and her angry scowl focused more on him as she continued slowly.

"She died in the hospital this morning from internal wounds. You, or Gaara, or _both… of you two… _killed her. You two killed your own _sister._"

Kankuro shook his head. He shook his head, even though he knew that what Ino was saying was possibly true. Even though that he knew that what she was saying was _most likely _true. _No one _survived Gaara's Sand Coffin. Especially when it captured someone's entire body the way it had done to Temari's.

He began to shake, trying his best to ignore reality.

…. He did do it, then. He helped Gaara to do it. He helped him, and the two of them had done it. The two of them had committed _sororicide. _They… he…

…That wasn't what was supposed to happen. Their big sister wasn't supposed to be dead. All they had wanted to do was get her away from Shikamaru long enough for one of them to land a final blow, and then leave. If this was what had happened…

And despite her death… Shikamaru was still _alive?! They had lost their sister, and that bastard was still breathing?!_

The older man slowly curled himself up into a ball, or rather the best he could while he was missing a leg. He lowered his head into the fold, and then began to breathe deeply.

He… he _had _killed her.

He had a part in it. He didn't want to, but ultimately intention in the world they lived in meant little. Actions were worth a thousand words. His actions indicated that he hated his sister. But he didn't. Neither of them did. They just wanted her _back. _They wanted her to rejoin them in Sunagakure. So that they could go back to being siblings. So they wouldn't have to fight each other.

So they wouldn't have to kill each other. So this very thing wouldn't happen.

And yet it had. Kankuro had killed his sister.

Kankuro had killed his sister.

His own flesh and blood.

His big sister.

The puppet master of the hidden sand began to feel a deep sickness engulf him, and he nearly threw up onto the floor. All the while, Ino Yamanaka watched from her side of the bars, observing him silently. She didn't feel much remorse for the man, personally. While she and Kankuro could have once considered themselves decent friends before the war, it all changed with the declaration. And even if they had continued their friendship, she had no feelings for a man who murdered his own sister. Making her friend a widower and leaving him cold. Leaving his son motherless, and crying in a hospital.

She bit her lip, and then spat onto the floor herself.

"…We'll begin tomorrow," she stated, coldly. With that, the Head of the Yamanaka Clan quickly left the room, and shut the door heavily and loudly behind her, leaving Kankuro alone in his cell.

And now, Kankuro had his hands over his face, hiding himself from the world. He was trying to keep his emotions within him, but still remained in his ball, and didn't move from it at all. Shared memories of the past, ones that he had never been able to get out of himself, to just simply forget forever, were playing out in his head now, haunting him for his actions.

Temari was dead. By Suna law, she had paid the appropriate price for her betrayal, but by the laws of his heart, she didn't deserve it. Not by his hand, and not by his brother's hand either.

And as tears of anger, guilt and frustration began to slowly appear down his face, staining and disgracing his cheeks and falling onto the floor, a rare show of weakness, he thought back to his earlier feelings.

No, it wasn't true. Not _all _shinobi deserved to go to Hell.

He, however, deserved nothing better than that.


	18. Emissary

_AN: Another heavy chapter incoming. Sorry for making this really dark, I promise it'll at least begin to get better soon. But for now, not really._

_I forgot to answer this a while ago, but I'm going to be sure to do __**something **__with the other great villages. And I'll try to at least have everyone from the Konoha 12 make an appearance._

_Once again, thanks for everyone from reading so far. Don't worry, eventually this story will get happier. _

_**I do not own any of the characters, and I do not own Naruto**_

___"…No…"_

Gaara thought that he'd be able to do this. He slowly revealed more of the garment that he held in his hand, and his face took an even more solemn turn.

"…He wanted you to have this… He said that it would explain everything…"

Even from where he was standing, Gaara could tell that Shiori was shaking. Slowly, her tremors began to intensify, as she reached a hand out to accept the garment that Gaara was offering her…

Kankuro's black hood. Attached, his Forehead protector...

The last remnants of him in this world.

"… It was an honourable death, Shiori…"

Slowly, the hand that now held her husband's hood closed into a fist, and her eyes left her Kazekage's, instead wishing to focus themselves on the sand beneath her. She continued to shake, and eventually, her eyes decided to shut completely.

Gaara's eyes left her body, and decided to look towards the sky above them. He didn't know that he was looking for, not at all. It had been four days since Kankuro had died, the sun was setting from the sky, and he had just himself returned to the Hidden Sand Village, having had to face a sandstorm on the way back inside. The memory of his brother had not left his mind for the entire journey home, the guilt had attacked his soul, and the humiliation of it all had attacked his heart. No matter how anyone could look at it, he had been the one to choose Kankuro to come with him, he had been the one to consider the circumstances of the mission, and he had been the one who was there when Kankuro paid the ultimate price. His brother's death had been, at least in some ways, _**his **_fault.

Which is why the moment he had arrived back in the village, the first thing he had done was make his way to Kankuro's former home, to deliver the terrible news himself. It was not proper for a Kazekage to do this, but just for once, Gaara couldn't care less about the formalities. Kankuro had been _his _brother. He had died on _**his **_mission. And therefore _**Gaara **_would be the one to explain to his wife where her husband was now, not anyone else.

In his mind before, it had seemed manageable, if distressing. But like the assassination mission, once he had begun, unforeseen variables had entered the equation, and caused him more pain than he had anticipated. But this time, instead of being the appearance of someone he had not expected…

It had been the appearance of Shiori's outward emotions.

His head lowered, once again, and he found himself looking at his brother's woman, who was now leaning against the right side of her doorframe, seemingly for support. As he watched, Gaara's eyes found themselves almost straining to continue to look upon her. Just moments after the news had been given, and she already looked as if she had aged thirty years. She was a taller woman, much taller than her Kazekage and yet still a bit shorter than Kankuro had been, and yet as she stood now Gaara felt as if he was much bigger than her. Her narrowed, dark grey eyes, her right one bordered with a diagonal pair of scars, couldn't lift themselves from the sand below them, her long black hair, normally pulled back, was allowed to roam free over her face to try and obstruct her eyes. Her normally healthy body seemed frail now, and the very look of her finally began to scare Gaara, back into thinking about what to do next.

He didn't know what to do next.

He wished to give her words of encouragement, but he knew that she would assume them to be bullshit. He longed to perhaps give her a supportive hug, but this was his brother's wife, not his, and he sought to forgo such close contact. He could go on and on about how brave his brother had been in death, but that was a give-

"…How did he die, Gaara…?"

Gaara's eyes snapped back into the reality he was in, and he looked back towards Shiori's face. It was still hidden behind her hair, and it was still looking down, to avoid revealing her expression. Her voice sounded like sandpaper, it was barely audible, and her shaking was getting worse.

For now, he didn't give a damn about how she had addressed him. Gaara hardened himself, and silently went over what he would say next-

"_You know… I always wanted a little brother. Even when I was a kid… I always thought having one would be… sort of cool. And clearly… you've lived up to that expectation…"_

Gaara cringed.

The vision of his brother bleeding to death assaulted his mind. The cold, yet emotional and guilty face of his sister stabbed at his heart. The fearful, horrified eyes of his nephew gripped what was left of his soul, and threw it to the ground.

As the events of the past day came back to him, he struggled to find a way to explain just what had happened. Unknowingly, he allowed his face to show some of his emotions, his eyes closing, his brows becoming tense. His lips curled into a deeper scowl, and his hands tightened into fists. After a few moments, his head tilted forwards.

_….I… I can't do this…_

He didn't want to witness anymore of his sister-in-law's reactions. They were heartbreaking already, and the situation that they were both in was already dire enough. But for her to know what he knew, no, that would _kill _her. He couldn't, wouldn't let that happen. At the very least, not for now.

"…He bled out after… losing his leg…" The words slowly crept out of his mouth like raindrops after a heavy rain. Before his train of thought passed, he allowed her a few more details.

"…The mission was completed. The assassination target was killed. But… when we went to kill him, there was someone there that _shouldn't _have been. That person… caught us all off guard. I was able to end the assailant, but by then… it was too late for your Husband…"

_Our Nephew was a witness, the assailant was our sister, and he died in an alley. _Specifics that Gaara wanted to add, but could not bring himself to. Unnecessary information, or rather, information that he was too ashamed of to reveal. At the very least, he couldn't tell this new widow that he had left her husband to die in some dingy back alley. At the very least, he couldn't tell this woman that he had died due to his own backstabbing sister.

At this information, he saw Shiori slowly nod, to herself, and she tried to pick herself up more from the pillar, standing up a bit taller.

"…I… I understand… th…thank you for the information… Lord Kazekage."

She gave a weak smile his way, while continuing to avoid her brother-in-law's eyes. She couldn't allow herself to let the emotions that she was truly feeling shine through, but through her silence and the sound of her voice, Gaara could get a good picture of her barely holding it together. He could clearly see her truth.

In her truth, she longed to scream out. She wanted to tear the garment she held in her hand apart into a million pieces, to get all of her anger away from her. To take her anger out of the man who had been taken from her. To go to wherever her husband's soul had gone to rest, and to yell at him for all eternity. For being so reckless, no… was it truly his fault? Should she not want to murder whoever did this to her husband? Was that person still alive? But… perhaps it really had been her husband being irresponsible again. To spite her. For once, to make her feel like-

_"We're Shinobi, remember? Last time I checked, 'dying on the job' was one of the more well-knwn workplace hazards-."_

Shiori gave out a shaky sigh. Perhaps this was his own little _**fucked**_ up way of showing her how _he _felt, all this time. A clever, cruel reversal of their dynamics. The grounded daredevil out-stupids the more outward one. Perhaps, it had not even been his idea. Perhaps it was the world itself trying to test her. Perhaps it was fate itself that hated her. That wanted her to turn into this. A weak, shattered woman. Barely able to even stand up and take the news that her Kazekage was giving to her.

At this information, she gave herself a small, sorrowful smile, as she looked at the ground beneath them. That bastard said one week, at the most. And now he was gone for a lifetime. Gone forever-

_Kankuro gave a toothy smile, and began to slowly ease the ring onto her finger, until it was securely attached to her._

_ "And I'm never going to leave you, Shiori. That's one thing I'll promise."_

Shiori felt a tear leave one of her eyes. That liar. That damn…

_"Here, take this."_

_ Before Shiori could say another word, Kankuro had placed a large scroll onto her lap. She received it, and then held it up to read the characters on it's label._

_ "…This is your 'Mother' puppet…"_

_ He gave her a light smile, and then nodded._

_ "You should keep it from now on. It'll… I don't know. Let's just say it's a symbolic gift."_

_ She shook her head no immediately, and offered the puppet back to her husband._

_ "You need both Mother and Father to use either of them properly-."_

_ "Exactly. The same way that I need __**you**__ if I want to perform the best I can."_

_ Shiori was taken off guard by the sudden words, before Kankuro's smile softened, and he pushed the scroll back onto her lap._

_ "Besides… I'm a Father now, and you're a Mother. It's symbolic too. You're a Mom now, it only makes sense for me to give you this, right?"_

_ With his words, she found herself looking down, and towards her swollen belly. After a few more moments, she took a deep breath, nodded, and took the scroll back into her hands. After she took it, Kankuro immediately wrapped his arms around her, and brought her into a warm hug. _

Horrible…

_"You doing alright up there, Princess?"_

_ "Yeah!"_

_ "Alright, hold on, ok?"_

_ Shiori peaked out from the kitchen that she had been in to see an adorable sight. A two year old Okuni riding on top of her husband's shoulders, rushing around ontop of him, getting a much better view of her surroundings than she would have if she were on the ground. _

_ Kankuro slowly began to walk around their living room, while Okuni did her best to hold onto the tips of his black hood for balance. From her position, Shiori simply watched for minutes as father and daughter made their trek around the house, Kankuro being very careful not to hurt, nor drop his daughter. After a few minutes of this, the Head Puppet master finally noticed his wife's head poking out from the door that lead to the kitchen, and then gave her a smile._

_ "Hey, Princess! Your Mommy's due North!"_

_ Okuni's little head twisted and turned around until it was able to register her mother's face. Upon seeing her, the little girl giggled with joy._

_ "Mommy! Mommy! Look! I'm tall now!"_

_ Shiori's face lit up at this, and she beamed warmly. _

_ "Wow! You're so big now, Okuni! It's almost like you grew overnight! Did you do that all by yourself?"_

_ At this, she noticed her daughter give off a blush. Her eyes, the same one that her father had, peered down at the man carrying her._

_ "…Umm, Daddy?"_

_ "Yes honey?"_

_ Her voice lowered, but her mother could still make out everything she was saying._

_ "…Should I tell Mommy our secret? I don't want to lie to her, but she thinks I'm really tall for real!"_

_ "Well, it's up to you, dear. But remember, deception is the art of a ninja."_

_ Okuni nodded slowly, and then looked back towards her Mom, without a second thought or hesitation._

_ "Uh… well yeah! I did grow up all overnight! All by myself! It's all because of me!"_

_ Shiori gave her daughter a knowing look._

_ "Oh really? All by yourself, huh?"_

_ "Yeah!"_

_ "And Daddy had nothing to do with it?"_

_ "No!"_

_ Shiori then giggled to herself, placing a hand over her mouth as she did so._

_ "Well then, I guess you have potential as a shinobi yet."_

_ Okuni's eyes lit up, and she threw her hands up in victory._

_ "Yea! Awsum!"_

_ Meanwhile, Kankuro simply shrugged knowingly to his wife, eliciting a small chuckle from his kitchen companion._

Disgusting...

_After an extended reunion between them, Shiori laid on Kankuro's naked, sweaty chest. With a single movement, he had returned the sheets they had been using back over them, and then cuddled her a bit closer to him, wrapping his arms around her body. Kankuro's eyes then focused off of her, and instead onto the bright, white moon that was clearly visible on this night. With his mind elsewhere, she sighed, before shrugging._

_ "…I'm glad."_

_ Kankuro's intense eyes left the moon, and then travelled in a true path back to his lover's grey pupils. Their eyes locked for a few more moments, before his mouth opened._

_ "…About the sex…?"_

_ Shiori chuckled, while Kankuro's awkward gaze continued. _

_ "… I thought that you knew I was good for it since our first-."_

_ "That's not what I was talking about. I mean… I'm glad for the sex but that's not the only thing I'm happy about."_

_ Kankuro narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but Shiori's eyes still remained open and peering, until her words followed up._

_ "I'm also happy that we did this. You know, this relationship thing."_

_ Kankuro raised a brow at her quizzically._

_ "…Yeah, you're __**definitely **__just talking about the sex."_

_ The two then laughed simultaneously, their voices taking up the empty, silent room. Idly, the Kazekage's Brother found himself rubbing his woman's back to comfort her more, while Shiori placed a hand behind Kankuro's head to rustle with what little hair he had at the moment. Once their laughter died down, he continued._

_ "…Yeah… I guess I'm glad we did this too," he agreed. "You know, before you it was just, a random woman or a random man every night. Now I have a routine and a steady lover. No, more than just a routine and a steady lover. Now I have… a __**special**__ friend."_

_ Shiori continued to play with Kankuro's features, her fingers beginning to go along his face, before she spoke again too._

_ "__**Special**__ friend… that's what we're calling what we have?"_

_ "I don't know what people would call __**us **__to be honest."_

_ "Hmm… how about Boyfriend and Girlfriend?"_

_ Kankuro studied the wrinkles on her face._

_ "We're both way too old to be calling ourselves boys and girls."_

_ "Lovers?"_

_ "Everyone uses that. What we have is different, I think." _

_ "Hmm… how about… Partners?"_

_ Kankuro screwed up his face._

_ "Partners?"_

_ "Catch-all term. It sounds adult enough for you, and it sounds professional enough for you too. Besides, it's a bit special, don't you think?"_

_ Shiori watched as Kankuro's face straightened, as he began to think of her suggestion. After a few moments, he nodded slowly._

_ "…Partners it is," he answered proudly. And without further notice, he gave her a peck on her cheek._

Another tear began to stream down her cheek.

Liar. Kankuro was a Filthy, horrible _**liar**_.

Gaara stood there as his brother's wife wrestled with her emotions. Every other time someone had died on duty, he had sent someone else to give the remnants of that someone's family the horrible news. But now, as he did it for himself, he found himself not privy to critical understanding. He didn't know when to leave. He didn't know how to help the woman in front of him. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to go on…

His eyes opened once again, and he looked up to study Shiori. She was still pale and weak looking, Kankuro's hood still held tightly in her hands, her still leaning against the doorframe of her home. Looking completely alone. Looking defeated…

Looking _hopeless._

He cleared his throat. No, there was one thing that he knew he could give her, and give her it well. _Hope. _He could give her that.

"Kankuro's death will not be in vain. It… it already is not. With his sacrifice, he allowed the Sand Village to take away the mind of the Hidden Leaf Village. Without a mind, one cannot think. With it's mind gone, the fiend that is the Hidden Leaf Village can easily be outwitted. And because of this, our victory in this war has essentially been confirmed."

He paused to see Shiori look up at him, a glimmer slowly shimmering in her eyes. Good. He… he would just restate the truths. Kankuro's presence would be missed, but at the very least she'd have his words, she's have his inspiration. That… that would help her survive this. At the very least, his words would help her.

"Keep his memory with you. Know that in his final moments, he loved you. He would not have laid down his life if it wasn't in order to protect you. To protect the village that we all were born and raised in. To ensure that we could all live long, prosperous lives. To-."

"Uncle Gaara!"

And at the very sound of a young voice, whatever sphere of hope that Gaara was trying to create broke nearly immediately. Because the divinities didn't just want him to just comfort a 38 year old widow now…

Now he was expected to also comfort a five year old.

From the room that was behind Shiori, Gaara watched as his niece, Okuni, slowly rushed into the area. The girl had her dark brown hair tied back into a loose ponytail, was dressed n a small, black tracksuit, and was rushing out quickly to greet her Uncle. Past her mother, and outside, embracing Gaara and giving him a tight, huge hug. Shiori watched her enthusiasm with horror, and Gaara's face was the exact same tone.

No. He couldn't do it. No. No. This is where he drew the line. He was expected to acknowledge his sister's betrayal, witness his brother's death, comfort his brother's widow, and now tell his young niece that her father was dead, all within the same week? Someone in heaven wanted him to suffer for a past sin. That was the only explanation that he could possibly think of, and he was not a very superstitious man.

From Shiori's position, she longed to reach out and retrieve her daughter, but how could she. She looked like hell herself, she felt like she was walking amongst the inferno itself, and she was barely able to stand up with the news that her husband was dead. She could only imagine the pain that she could bring to the already unstable situation by being the one to tell her daughter that her father wasn't going to come home.

But she didn't need to rouse her. Okuni removed her face from her Uncle's cloths soon enough, and then looked up at him, smiling. Gaara's pale eyes were glazed over with a clear show of unknown.

"Sorry, Uncle Kazekage. Ka-ze-ka-ge! In public, I'm supposed to call you Uncle Kazekage in public! Well, you're back! That's awesome! That's cool! You're back on the same day that Daddy said you'd be! How was your mission?! Was it successful? How successful? Maybe super successful?"

The girl then looked past Gaara, and raised a brow.

"Huh? Dad… Uncle Gaara, where's Dad?"

_…Don't make me do this._

"He's supposed to be with you, right? He went on a mission with you…"

_Is this consequence for my childhood?_

"Is he hurt? Is he in the hospital?"

_When I killed all those people...? Is this a result of that?_

"Okay, well if he's in the hospital then that means he'll be ok! Cool. So can you tell me about some of the cool stuff my Dad did while he was out there?!"

_Consequence for when I murdered Yashamaru? I don't get to be a good Uncle, because I slew my own?_

"… Uncle? Uncle what's wrong?"

_ She doesn't deserve this. She's five. She's only fi-_

"…Mommy… Mommy are you ok?"

Gaara's eyes refocused to see that the child had gone back to her mother, and was now standing in front of her. All the while, Shiori seemed paralyzed, and her tears were streaming down her face like a river now, all attempts at keeping her composure gone.

"…Mommy…"

Shiori's words would not come to her. She couldn't tell a lie. She slowly held out her husband's hood in front of her daughter, and then looked away, as if not seeing the reaction from her gesture would make anything remotely better.

"…Daddy's hood…"

She was a bright child. She didn't need much explainati-

"…Mommy… is Daddy coming back?"

Her strength finally failing her, Shiori fell to her knees, and placed both of her hands on her child's shoulders. On her infant's shoulders. _On _Kankuro's shoulders.

"…Your Dad… he died out there fighting the bad guys, baby. He's not coming back."

And instantly, Gaara's heart broke.

"But Daddy promised! He said one week, he said one week! He said he'd get back and we'd finish the story!"

Shiori's tears were like a waterfall now, and eyes struggled to stay open, her lips nearly refusing to move. Okuni's face had turned defensive quickly, and her fists were balled up. Her mother would try her best to continue.

"…Your Daddy can't come back, baby."

Some tears began to form in Okuni's eyes, and she slowly began to wipe them away.

"But… we're not finished… but… Daddy… I…"

"Baby-."

"_**I don't like this joke! I don't like this trick! I don't like this story! Don't like to me!**_"

"I'm not not lying to you dear please just-."

"W-W-W-Why'd he have to go out on this _**STUPID **_mission anyways?! Who forced him to go!?"

Okuni turned around to see her Uncle, and Gaara immediately felt as if he had been stabbed in the gut. _Oh my god please do not-_

"You…. Uncle Gaara, why didn- You're… Uncle Gaa- Why didn- Why didn't- Uncle, Unc- And… Why… Why'd … _**Why did you have to choose my Daddy to go with you!? Why did Daddy have to work so much all the time!? Why didn't you get someone else to do it?!"**_

__The little girl's eyes were red as anything by this point, and she didn't know what to do with her emotions. It was clear from the look on her face, and it was clear from her actions that she didn't know what to _**do **_with her anger. Her sadness, her loss. She didn't know what to do, except cover her crying eyes, and eventually run into her mother's open arms, hiding her face from the rest of the world.

All the while, Gaara's inner tears finally began to show themselves on his face.

He wanted to show more. Everything that was on his inside. But that would require setting himself on fire. That would require setting himself on fire, and then burying himself in his own sand. That would require him going to Konohagakure, and burning everything in that village down, and singlehandedly killing most of the people in it.

But he wouldn't show it. He would hide it. He would stay strong. He would appear so. He had to be strong. He has to be strong. He is the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, and he had been so since he was a young man. He couldn't give up his façade now, he had to remain strong. The strong, stoic, inspiring and brave Kazekage of the Wind, setting an example for everyone in his village.

He wiped his tears away, and took a deep breath. He looked towards the small huddle near the door, the mother and daughter crying together over a husband, his brother, which was never coming back. He had to comfort them in some way. He had to help.

"…His sacrifice will not be forgotten," he began. His voice was weak with sadness, but he began to temper it into a stronger one.

"… Because of his loss, because of his work… you… you two will see. The village will be safer for it. You two will be safer for it… you… you two… you two will see. I promise, his death will not be in vain. He… he died so he could end this. End this war. End all of this suffering and pain. And in the coming weeks, months, years, you'll see that wish come to fruition. I promise you two will."

He took a pause, to notice that the two of them were still huddled. And then he remembered the most important thing about his train of thought.

"…And just remember that he loved you two dearly. His last thoughts were of you two. And with his love in your hearts, please, do not forget his sacrifice. Live. Live for yourselves, and live for him…"

There were no more inspiring words that he could think of. His time here was done. He had delivered the dreadful messages, and now his continued presence would likely only make the two of them even more upset.

"…And please… just know that I am here for the both of you. If you two ever need to just… talk... or you need help just… ask me. I shall give it to you the best I can. It is the least that I can do…"

And so, Gaara bowed before the two of them, before turning to go down the steps of Kankuro's former estate, and left.

…

…

He rounded into a back-alley before his tears broke free.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_"Mom, how'd you end up with such a bum like my Dad?"_

_ Temari Nara's eyes widened at her son's unusual request. Shikadai noticed her reaction and shrugged, helping himself to more of the kelp in front of him. _

_ "…Huh?" _

_ "I asked 'how'd you end up with such a bum like my Dad?'-."_

_ "Your Father's not a bum."_

_ "Yeah-yeah. So. How'd it happen?"_

_ If it wasn't so early in the morning, Temari would've reprimanded her son. But as it was at the moment, she was just tied from an entire night of working. She put down her laundry basket, and then turned herself to look at the six year old straight on._

_ "What makes you ask that?"_

_ Shikadai shrugged._

_ "Well, you're troublesome. You're really loud and aggressive, and active and everything. Dad's troublesome too, but he's a different kind of troublesome. He's quiet and passive, lazy and everything. How'd you two even end up together? Why are you even with him?"_

_ At this, Temari found herself chuckling hysterically. After a moment, Shikadai raised a brow._

_ "Wha-."_

_ "Well… your Dad does have his good traits. He's loyal, calm, smart, and brave. Dedicated when he can find a good cause-." _

_ "But there are so many other guys out there Mom. And those guys got what Dad's got but are less lazy than he is. So what gives?"_

_ Temari shrugged._

_ "Well, those guys don't have something that your Dad does."_

_ "What's that?"_

_ "Your Dad has this thing… where he'll be a complete bum in every other aspect, to the point where it drives me crazy… but he'll remember to buy my flowers. Or he'll remember it was my birthday, and he'll make that day special for me. And… he sure is dedicated to the causes he gives a damn about."_

_ "Well, I still don't get it."_

_ Temari shrugged._

_ "I didn't expect you to. You will when you get older."_

_ "Pftt, yeah right. Adults are too troublesome to understand."_

_ Temari smiled, and then rolled her eyes at her young child. Shikadai looked up at her smile, her bright, open smile, revealing all of her teeth…_

_ He smiled, and then rolled his eyes. Well, if he didn't get what his Mom married his Dad for, he'd at least figure out why his Dad bothered with his Mom. Or rather, had a clue about-_

Shikadai Nara didn't want to wake up.

When the alarm clock began to ring beside him, he immediately made his fist hit it, and cringed as he heard it knock against the floor beside him. Afterwards, he attempted to push himself back to sleep for a few minutes longer, before realising that it wasn't going to happen. He had slept much more than his required 8 hours a day, and as a result he wasn't going to be able to fall back into the dark abyss. Once he realised that, he took a deep breath, and then swung himself onto the other side of his bed. He got himself dressed, and then entered his personal bathroom to spruce himself up. He did up his ponytail, rechecked the time on his clock, before his eyes focused on himself in the mirror.

There he was. Shikadai Nara. Future Member of the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho trio, son of Shikamaru Nara, Academy student, heir to the Nara Clan. The boy with a brilliant mind. Here he was with his young, fresh face, his dark green eyes, his jet black hair, his smooth chin, and his two earring studs given to him by his father.

Here he stood.

Without a mother.

_ "Mom!? Mom!? Please let me in! My Mom's in there! Please! Mom?! Let me see my Mom! I need to see my mom!"_

Once he remember this, he immediately left the washroom, and shut the door to his best ability behind him. He shut his eyes and covered his face once he was away from his mirror. Away from himself. Away from the evidence. Away from his eyes, which were identical to his mother's. Away from his hair, his father's. Away from his past, away from his future.

Away from his world. He wanted… he wanted to get out of the world he was living in. He wanted to run away, or maybe just hide under his bed, and pretend like he wasn't here. Maybe that way, his father, the Kaze-

The Kazekage. His Father.

Shikadai slowly removed his hands from his face, and opened his eyes. He scanned his room for his backpack, and then put it on. He then slipped on his sandals, and slowly sat himself on the edge of his bed, and looked up at the ceiling, calming himself down, and remembering his truths.

The Kazekage had taken his mother away from him. This was a simple fact. His mother had done nothing wrong, her only sin being that she had been married to his father. And yet this didn't stop the Kazekage from butchering his mother. It didn't stop him from harming his father.

It didn't stop his mother from passing the day before.

Upon the memory, Shikadai clutched his chest. After he had gotten enough tears out, his father had brought him home, and then promptly had disappeared for the rest of the day. He had spent the rest of the day in his room, trying to remember things from school, trying to distract himself, but failing. His mother was gone. His Mom was dead. He didn't know what to do about it. He... he was angry. He was scared. He wanted his Mother back. He needed his mother back. He didn't… deserve this! He was a child, why was he having to go through this!

The very memory began to bring tears to the young boy's eyes…-

"…Shikadai. Come on out and get some breakfast before you head to school."

"Yeah-yeah! Give me a second."

And to make matters worse, he was left with his father.

Shikadai didn't know exactly what to think of his father. He had heard great things about him from literally everyone in his life, and yet he had seen none of these things in action. Apparently he was a very dedicated man, even though he sometimes would try to shirk out on his responsibilities when he was at home. Apparently he was a very smart man, and yet he had never truly figured out how to win the war, and it had been going on since before Shikadai was even born. And nothing of Shikamaru's title as "The Great Stag of Konohagakure" was reflected on those days when Shikadai had returned home late at night, some combination of hurt, and needed his own wife to nurse him back to health.

He had no reason to think that life with having only his father as his parent was going to be anything other than hard and boring. Their household had clearly needed his mother to be there to-

His mother.

_"What's this?"_

_ "Just an A."_

_ "Oh, so you're finally using that brain of yours, huh? Or did you just need help all this time-."_

_ "That was all me."_

_ "As I thought. Well… Good job son. You should do it more often."_

_ "Yeah…Ok. Thanks Mom."_

He had to stop thinking of her. Every time he did, hit unleashed a vase full of pain. He had to… he had to get her back. Or at the very least, he had to make sure that whoever had killed her paid the ultimate price…

He took a deep breath. No… he would think of a way to get his needs, but he would have to do so later. When he wasn't hungry, and when there wasn't school to be attended.

He left his room and then went down his hall towards the kitchen. Once he entered the kitchen, he saw a small parcel of lunch on the counter top, which he quickly put into his bag. Looking around, he soon noticed a plate of eggs in a place that was next to…

Shikamaru Nara. His father.

Shikadai wouldn't sneer. He would go in, and he would sit in his allotted spot. His Dad at the head of the table, he, being the son, sitting next to him. He did so. In front of him, a small plate of eggs stood. He began to eat.

Shikamaru didn't say a word.

The quiet was eerie. Usually, a morning in the Nara household involved some sort of chatter. Even if it was an argument, it was something. But now, with Temari's absence….

It sounded like a grave.

Finally, Shikadai found the absence to be too much for him to handle alone. He looked up at his father…

And immediately stopped his idea. Seeing his father's face was enough to make him know that he shouldn't be brought into a large conversation.

He looked dead. His hair was still up into his signature ponytail, but his skin was pale, his eyes were dilated, the scowl on his face heavy. Instead of eating, he was helping himself to a cup of tea. Usually, that cup of tea would have been prepared by his wife, specially brewed for him, but he had had to make do with his own imitation. He hadn't gotten out of his pajama robe, implying that he wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon, and his eyes were focused completely on the tea in front of him, as if that was his life source. As if that was the one reason why he kept on living. As if that was the only thing in the world.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Shikamaru's real life source was gone.

And his father was silent, and completely focused on it. This gave Shikadai time to think. If he was ever going to bring his plot of reparation into fruition, he needed a lot of things. Thankfully, his clan was rich, so it was possible that he could become like his father in a way, commanding people like one would command a piece in Shogi. Perhaps he could just buy people to do what he wanted. But before he could even begin to do that, he needed to research. He needed to get tools. He needed to have-.

"…Your Mother's funeral is going to be in a week."

_Mother…._

Shikadai looked back up towards his father, to see that he had been lifting his tea cup in mid-air before he had said that. His teacup hand was now shaking, and Shikadai found himself captivated by it for a moment, as he tried to forget that his father had mentioned his mother. He couldn't think of something like that. He couldn't. He had to keep it together…

"…Shikadai… did you hear me?"

His father's voice was normally stronger, but now he sounded as if someone had ripped out his spine. Weak, wobbly. Routed.

Shikadai looked up to his father, and gave him a nod. And then, keeping his composure, he took a breath of sadness, and allowed his forbidden topic to return.

"…What are we going to do now, Dad?"

He needed to know. Would they be making any strides to get revenge? Shikamaru was the father, he should be in charge of something such as this. What about on a day to day basis. Shikadai knew that Shikamaru couldn't cook, it was going to be a disaster. What was going to happen with the war? What was going to happen to the Village?

What was going to happen to the remnants of his family-?

"…I don't know, son."

And thus Shikadai's dislike of his father increased. A man had come into his home, killed his wife, and then ran off, and he didn't know what he was going to do? Even though the fear that Shikadai had, he _knew _that _something _had to be done. He, he would have to do something to the man that murdered his mother, and ripped his family apart. The man that turned his mornings into a boy eating along and a father drinking tea, with no words exchanged between them. The man who had taken away his mother, such an important motivator in his life. His guide. The other half of him.

And while Shikadai was thinking of plans to get the revenge the he, no, _they _deserved, through his pain, through his fear and his crying, Shikamaru was not able to take a hint? The way that he stood in his chair now, his mouth agape, his teacup still wobbling in his hand, and his eyes frantically trying to focus themselves, it was like Shikamaru was dead. Or dying.

In truth, they both were. They were both dying. But, in Shikadai's eyes, Shikadai was going to stab the man who killed him…

While Shikamaru was going to let it happen. But in reality, Shikamaru just knew full well that one should not murder his or her own family…

While Shikadai had no idea of his relations.

And thus was the boy who wanted action, and the man who struggled to understand what action he was to take.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gaara walked into his quarters in the Kazekage Mansion.

In the bed that they shared, Matsuri lifted her head, instantly waking up.

She wasn't supposed to be there.

No, she _**was. **_

__She should have been his wife since ten years ago.

Upon seeing one another, her face lit up, while his darkened.

He strode over to the area they had usually met, so many times, clothed or not clothed, in passion, in play, in anger, in sadness.

The look on his face was horrifying to Matsuri. She knew that mission he had gone out on. She knew the risks.

"…Gaara…"

He instantly pushed himself into her arms, and then finally allowed himself to finish his tears. She slowly closed her own eyes, and hugged him tighter.

"…Gaara…"

His voice quivered like a little boy.

"Temari… traitor… Kankuro… dead… Shiori… Okuni… No… no no no no no no what am I doing?! Who… what…. What am I?! Who… what…. Why did I-."

Before he ran could go any further, Matsuri silenced his lips with a kiss.

Before their kiss could become too passionate, she pulled away.

Before he could feel alone, for the millionth time in his life, she slowly turned him so that he was facing her, and then placed his hands in hers, and vice versa.

"…Tell me everything, Gaara. _Let it all out._"

And so Gaara took a deep breath, and the more he spoke, the stronger and stronger his voice became.

_That's all for this chapter. To be honest I might have rushed this a little bit, I finished this off at 4:40 am in the morning. Either way, I hope you guys enjoyed. R&R. Thank you all for reading so far!_


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